The government has announced that Covid-19 vaccines could be made mandatory for all staff in care homes.
Ministers have launched a consultation on making vaccination against the virus a condition of work for people who are deployed in these homes, in order to protect residents.
According to the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), SAGE scientists said 80% of staff and 90% of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against outbreaks of Covid-19.
Only 53% of older adult homes in England are currently meeting this threshold.
This means that nearly half of all care homes with older adult residents do not meet the recommended vaccination thresholds set down by the government's scientific advisory body SAGE.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
Currently the staff vaccination rate is below 80% in more than half of local authority areas.
There are 27 local authority areas with a staff vaccination rate below 70%.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Older people living in care homes are most at risk of suffering serious consequences of Covid-19 and we have seen the grave effects the virus has had on this group.
“Making vaccines a condition of deployment is something many care homes have called for, to help them provide greater protection for staff and residents in older people’s care homes and so save lives.
“The vaccine is already preventing deaths and is our route out of this pandemic. We have a duty of care to those most vulnerable to COVID-19, so it is right we consider all options to keep people safe.”
The five-week consultation will seek views on the proposal, any potential impact it could have on staffing and safety, how it could be implemented and who could be exempt.
