A care home worker said she is 'heartbroken' after losing her job because she refuses to get a Covid vaccine.
Louise Akester, from Hull, is currently unwilling to get vaccinated, but said she would not rule out having the jab in the future.
The government is requiring all care home workers to be fully vaccinated by November 11, unless they are medically exempt, which means the carer is being forced to leave her job in a matter of days.
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Ms Akester said she is standing by her decision, despite admitting that she is 'heartbroken' to be leaving a profession she loves, reports Hull Live.
The 36-year-old has worked in the care sector for 14 years, in residential and community settings, and has been a carer at Alderson House in Hull for the last three years.
"I'm still standing by my decision," she said.
"My heart has been in that role of work for such a long time.
"I'm at a loss about what I'll be doing after I lose this job. I just feel so heartbroken."
Ms Akester's contract is being terminated on November 5, despite her manager not wanting to "lose" her, she said.
"We should have freedom of choice," the carer said.
"The only choice I've been left with is either having the vaccine against your freedom of choice, or lose your job.
"It's absolutely destroying me."
She said it was particularly unfair that there is no mandatory requirement coming in for care home residents, or their visitors who are family and friends.
"There can be unvaccinated visitors," Ms Akester explained. "It seems unfair how they can do it, yet I can't."
She said her last day will be "one of the hardest days of my life".
"I genuinely love my job with all my heart, I only earn minimum wage so believe me it isn’t the money keeping me there," she said.
She added: "When I have to leave that building at the end of my final shift knowing that I can no longer return as an employee, all because apparently now I’m not good enough to protect them due to refusing the vaccines.
"This choice should be my basic human right. I do not deserve to be punished for saying 'no'."
Explaining why she will not have the vaccine, Ms Akester said: "I'd rather wait until we know more about the potential long-term side effects."
The carer added that she gets tested three times a week for Covid, wears PPE gear and follows "all guidelines relating to infection control".
Jeremy Brown, professor of respiratory medicine at University College London Hospitals and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has said health workers should get vaccinated "as a matter of professional pride".
A government impact assessment in the summer of the double vaccination requirement for care home workers by November 11 suggested around 40,000 staff would be unvaccinated by the cut-off point.
