Mandatory Covid-19 vaccination dropped for nurses in England

Vaccination as a condition of deployment was introduced for care home staff in October 2021 and was due to be extended to all patient-facing NHS and social care workers in April this year.

However, following a public consultation, the Department of Health and Social Care has today confirmed that it will be revoking the mandate from 15 March 2022.

The week-long consultation ran from 9 to 16 February and received more than 90,000 responses including from 4,345 registered nurses.

Of the registered nurse respondents, 79% said they wanted to see the mandatory vaccination policy revoked, 1% did not mind either way, while 20% wanted the policy to stay.

The survey was also open to members of the public who voted overwhelmingly (96%) against mandatory vaccination of health and social care staff.

In total, across all groups surveyed, 90% were against the requirement for patient-facing workers to be vaccinated.

The government said it would now “bring forward regulations to revoke vaccination as a condition of deployment”.

In making this decision, the government said it had taken account of the “latest scientific evidence”, as well as equality impact assessments and the consultation results.

“This is the right decision by the government and shows it has listened to the concerns of nursing staff"

Pat Cullen

It noted that the current dominant Omicron variant was “intrinsically less severe” than the previously dominant Delta, while two doses of the vaccine were less effective against Omicron.

The government recognised in its response to the consultation that patients receiving health and social care would be “particularly vulnerable to severe illness and death from Covid-19”.

However, it said it had come to the conclusion that “we can continue to appropriately support the management of Covid-19 and protect people who are vulnerable to Covid-19 through means other than vaccination as a condition of deployment”, including personal protective equipment (PPE).

It also highlighted that revoking the policy was “likely to have a beneficial effect on workforce numbers”, as no additional staff will have to be dismissed as a result the mandate.

However, the chief executive of Care England has recently told Nursing Times that the social care sector had already lost an estimated 20,000 staff through the mandate in care homes due to workers either quitting or having to be let go.

The changes today will mean vaccination as a condition of deployment will end in care homes on 15 March.

Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said health and social care staff still had a “professional responsibility” to be vaccinated and that the government was exploring further steps to encourage take-up including of boosters.

Latest data shows 92% of NHS staff have received two doses, while 77% have also had a third booster dose.

“I have made it clear that I consider it a professional responsibility for health and care staff"

Sajid Javid

In social care, 95% of care home staff – for whom vaccination is currently mandatory – have had two doses, while for staff in other social care settings the coverage of just one dose is as low as 76%.

Mr Javid said: “Irrespective of this step, and while we have a number of defences and mitigations in place, such as antivirals and PPE, vaccination continues to be our most important weapon in the fight against Covid-19.

“I have made it clear that I consider it a professional responsibility for health and care staff, and others who work in the health and social care sectors, to be vaccinated, and I am glad to note that the professional regulators, the royal colleges, the chief medical officer, the chief nursing officer, and the chief midwifery officer among others, agree with this.”

Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, welcomed the U-turn.

She said: “This is the right decision by the government and shows it has listened to the concerns of nursing staff."

“Vaccines are safe and effective and getting vaccinated remains the best defence against Covid-19," added Ms Cullen.

“Holding the threat of losing their jobs over the heads of the small minority of staff who had not been vaccinated was the wrong approach and this decision will be welcomed by those whose jobs were at risk."

However, she warned that the move had "come too late" for those who had already lost their jobs, and called on the government to urgently address what she called "the health and social care workforce crisis".