UK Govt Moving Towards Mandatory Vaccination for NHS Staff

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi has left open the possibility of mandatory vaccination for NHS staff after enforcing the measures on care home employees.

Mr Zahawi made the remarks during his round of Sunday media interviews, during which he also doubled down on domestic vaccine passports for nightclubs and other large venues from late September.

The vaccine minister, who had assured a peer in the House of Lords on January 12th that in unequivocal terms there would be no introduction of domestic vaccine passports, had told Sky News yesterday that it is “only right and responsible that we look at the duty of care for healthcare workers on the frontline and across the NHS”, with reports a consultation on making vaccination a condition of employment in the National Health Service could be opened as soon as this week, per sources speaking to The Telegraph.

Asked about a potential ‘jabs for jobs’ scenario at Britain’s largest employer, Mr Zahawi said in comments reported by MailOnline that a consultation held on the condition for deployment in social care settings returned “very clear feedback that we need to look at the greater healthcare workforce, including the NHS frontline workforce who I have to say, and it is worth just putting on the record, they have come forward in huge numbers to get themselves protected and vaccinated”.

Despite conceding that over 94 per cent of frontline healthcare workers have already volunteered to be vaccinated, the minister said: “I think it is only right and responsible that we look at the duty of care for healthcare workers on the frontline and across the NHS who are looking after people who are, when they are entering hospital, vulnerable to infection and we consult and we will come back and of course publish that consultation in due course.”- READ MORE