Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for National Health Service (NHS) workforce and health care workers has been dropped, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed.
The rule was set to be imposed in April—meaning if NHS workers hadn’t had their first shot by Friday (Feb. 4) they would not be double-vaccinated in time to continue working.
Now Sajid Javid, has unveiled the guidance in the House of Commons on Monday (Jan. 31), setting out the mandatory jabs would be scrapped for health workers.
Javid said: “Given that Delta has been replaced, it’s only right that our policy on vaccination as a condition of deployment is reviewed. So I asked for fresh advice including from the UK Health Security Agency and England’s chief medical officer.”
Boris Johnson’s government expected to announce a U-turn on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for National Health Service (NHS) and social care workers, according to reports.
Health secretary Sajid Javid has been facing pressure to scrap the requirement for health workers in England to be vaccinated by April amid fears it will lead to a major staffing crisis. Javid is set to meet ministers on the COVID-Operations Cabinet committee on Monday (Jan. 31) to confirm the U-turn.
Ministers believe the move is justified because the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is milder than previous ones.