The fully vaccinated NHS worker who wrote to you may well believe mandatory vaccination is “abusive” (Letters, 16 December). I do wonder if they have also accepted the mandatory hepatitis B vaccination that applies to all patient-facing NHS workers. In south London in 2002, many parents opted out of the MMR vaccine, and a measles outbreak ensued. As a GP, I used to tell such parents that they were exercising their right to use my vaccinated children as human shields for their unvaccinated children. Years ago, I responded to a Guardian letter by David Hockney when he railed against smoking bans, pointing out that service industry workers can contract lung cancer from secondhand smoke. NHS workers have a duty to our patients, and the wider community.
Denis Jackson
Glasgow
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