Mandatory Covid vaccines for NHS and social care workers in England are set to be scrapped, The Telegraph has tonight revealed. The axing of the contentious mandate plans follow warnings that the NHS would not be sustainable due to the staff shortages mandating Covid jabs could cause. It is estimated that up to 80,000 NHS staff have not been vaccinated.
As reported by Gript, huge protests took place in the UK last weekend against plans to make vaccines mandatory for NHS staff. Central London was ‘flooded’ with thousands of protestors last Saturday, including many healthcare workers who face being sacked for refusing to be jabbed. Protests also took place in Newcastle and Manchester. The demonstrations came as the Covid vaccine deadline for NHS staff was last week reportedly set to be pushed back amid fears that the NHS could lose thousands of staff.
In what was hailed as a “pivotal” moment, an unvaccinated doctor recently announced that he was spearheading a judicial review, along with seven other medical professionals, in a bid to end the NHS Covid vaccination mandate.
Speaking last week on The Jeremy Vine show, Dr Steve James said: “They’re asking us to take a vaccine that is currently not reducing infection or transmission”. He is one medic who has received wide support online for his advocacy, with others urging Sajid Javid to ‘stop threatening’ over 120,000 staff who are not fully vaccinated.
Dr Steve James with @theJeremyVine
"They're asking us to take a vaccine that is currently not reducing infection or transmission"@sajidjavid – stop threatening over 120K staff
We need to get back to our Old Normal!@NHSEnglandMedia @NHSConfed @NHSProviders pic.twitter.com/Twbs4ET38X
— Together (@Togetherdec) January 25, 2022
Commenting tonight on the update, Dr James told care providers to “hold the line” and welcomed the update as “great news” which he was “extremely happy to hear” as he, along with other unvaccinated colleagues, awaits Government confirmation expected on Monday.
The issue garnered significant attention earlier this month when comments made by the unvaccinated consultant anaesthetist went viral. As reported by Gript, Dr James made headlines when he told British Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Sky News that he would not be taking a vaccine because he already had Covid antibodies from being infected with Covid.
“So, I’ve had COVID at some point, I’ve got antibodies, and I’ve been working on COVID ICU since the beginning,” he said. “I have not had a vaccination; I do not want to have a vaccination,” he said in the video which went viral.
On Monday, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid will meet with fellow ministers on the Covid-Operations Cabinet committee to rubber stamp the decision on the about-turn, The Telegraph reports. The UK paper tonight reported that Multiple government sources said ministers are expected to end the requirement because the omicron Covid variant, now dominant in the UK, is milder than previous strains of the virus.
If the April 1 deadline did go ahead, it would have meant that all healthcare workers in the NHS would have had to get their first jab next month – if they are to be double jabbed by April. The Government’s u-turn is being welcomed by those who were at risk of losing their jobs.
Official NHS figures show around 85,000 staff have not had any vaccine, with a further 40,000 just getting one dose. Under the axed plans, bosses would have had to dismiss staff who are unvaccinated that cannot be redeployed to a non-patient facing role.
Vaccination against Covid became a legal requirement for care homes in November in a move which sparked outcry. An estimated 40,000 people lost their jobs over the policy according to reports. The new rules now mean that these workers are expected to be allowed to return to work in the sector. The Telegraph also reports that on Sunday night, care home representatives expressed anger at the handling of mandatory vaccination, saying the flip flopping had “devastated our workforce and brought providers to their knees”.
The policy shift reflects Downing Street’s increasing focus on how Britain must “learn to live with Covid” as the surge of Omicron cases recedes.