Covid 19 jabs: Fears as thousands of unvaccinated care home staff set to lose jobs

By Tony Ogaga

Following government’s mandatory directive on vaccinations in England, which stipulates that staff in registered care homes in England must have both jabs as a condition of deployment unless they are exempt for valid medical reasons, sector leaders fear an exodus of care staff which they warn will threaten safe care as

thousands of care home staff who have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus are set to lose their jobs next week, latest figures suggest.

According to data from the NHS England, around 90 per cent of staff working in older age care homes have received two vaccine doses as of October 31. The implication is that one in 10 of the total number of staff have not been recorded as having received two doses at this point. This suggests that a total of 60, 000 staff have not had a second jab or their second jab has not been reported as of the end of October.

The total includes staff who cannot be vaccinated for valid medical reasons and those whose vaccination status is unknown, while there may also be a time lag in some vaccinations being reported. However, there is no published data on how many staff have self-certified as exempt or have applied for official proof.

From next Thursday, it will be a legal requirement for staff who are not exempt to be doubly vaccinated if they are to continue in their role. The regulations also cover any worker, including NHS staff, trades people and inspectors, who needs to enter a care home as part of their employment.

However, residents and their visitors, or people who need to enter the residence to provide emergency assistance or urgent maintenance, or under-18s will not need to show proof of vaccination.