It’s a shame it had to come to this. Yesterday the Government confirmed it will be mandatory for frontline NHS workers to have the Covid vaccine.
With the exception of those with a medical reason not to, everyone must have had two jabs, most likely by April.
Reluctantly I think it is the right call.
No one should be made to do anything they don’t want to do. But if people don’t want the vaccination then they shouldn’t be in jobs that involve looking after some of the sickest and most vulnerable people in our society.
Mandatory jabs are nothing new. Healthcare staff doing certain procedures need to have had the hepatitis B vaccine.
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Some argue that’s different as people who went into the profession knew they had to have the jab beforehand, so were able to make their own choices, while this is something retrospective.
But we are where we are.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that we have vaccines to protect us from a virus that has already claimed the lives of 142,000 people in Britain alone.
I believe in the Covid vaccines. I’m double jabbed. I certainly wouldn’t ask someone to do something I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself.
But I also have an 88 year old grandmother with a lung condition – she needs a machine at night to help with her breathing.
Would I be happy for an unvaccinated health worker to look after her? From a totally selfish point of view I wouldn’t. I want the safest pairs of hands possible giving her care.
The NHS, scientists and our political leaders need to do a much better job of explaining that the vaccines are safe and have been tested on people across the world.
I feel desperately sorry for anyone who feels they will have to leave the profession over this – there are already 105,000 unfilled positions in the NHS in England. They certainly shouldn’t be hounded out of the profession. Maybe they can be found jobs where they don’t come into contact with vulnerable people.
I hope before April’s deadline more workers are convinced about the efficacy of the vaccines and roll up their sleeves to have the jab. It would be a shame to lose dedicated workers when we need them more than ever.
