A Government minister said he is 'disappointed' that some NHS staff have refused to have a Covid vaccine jab.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said it was “disappointing” that some NHS staff have declined to take a coronavirus vaccine.
“I think it is always very difficult to require or mandate vaccination… it has always been the case that people have to choose to want it,” the Environment Secretary told Sky News.
“Obviously it is disappointing if people working in our NHS, who themselves in very small numbers, have decided not to have the vaccine.
“We want to get maximum protection particularly for those vulnerable cohorts but also for those such as those working in the NHS who are particularly exposed, and the vast majority of them have taken up the vaccine.”
Vaccines are “fully efficacious” against the Kent variant of coronavirus, Mr Eustice has said.
He told Sky News that the variant remains “our main challenge at the moment”.
“(It is) highly infectious, spreads more quickly than some of the other variants, and dominates at the moment and is our primary challenge.
“And the vaccines are fully efficacious against that particular strain.”
