Careworkers in Trafford are in danger of losing their jobs after declining the covid vaccine.
Thursday September 16 was the de facto deadline for all care workers across the UK to have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, to enable them to get their second dose by the government’s imposed deadline of November 11.
If a care worker hasn’t been double jabbed by this date, they won’t be able to continue working in the sector, according to the new rules.
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For Trafford, where there are 54 Care Quality Commission-registered care homes, 16 homes have 100pc of staff who have received at least one vaccine dose.
In total, there are 2,034 care home workers in the borough. Of these, just 62 people have declined the vaccine, 22 are currently away from work and eight people are exempt.
That means 95.7pc of eligible care workers have received at last one vaccine dose.
A spokesperson for Trafford council added: “We are in regular contact with all of our care homes. We have encouraged managers and their teams to take up the vaccination offer and will continue to do so.
“We will continue to work with care homes to make sure residents receive the best care possible.”
But the government has faced strong criticism over its new mandate, with unions claiming the move will place vulnerable people at risk.
Trafford council has been open in recent months about the borough’s struggles in attracting and retaining care staff and an outstanding rated homecare agency in Urmston was unable to fill a single one of its vacancies this summer.
It is understood the government’s mandate could apply even more pressure to an already struggling sector.
