London, Thanassis Gavos
Tens of thousands of nursing home workers in England are losing their right to continue working there today because they have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
The government had decided in the summer that from today the full vaccination will be mandatory for the staff of the nursing homes.
According to the latest data for the first week of the month, 32,000 workers had not received any dose of the vaccine and 30,000 had only received the first dose. Only about 5,000 are believed to be excluded for medical reasons, so about 57,000 workers are not eligible from today to enter their workplaces so far.
Representatives of nursing homes and trade unions have criticized the government, saying that at a critical juncture, 8% of the workforce in these welfare facilities is being lost, with an estimated 30,000 elderly people left without adequate care.
Undersecretary of State Paul Scully defended the measure, saying workers had “plenty of time” over the past 12 weeks to weigh the situation and opt for vaccination.
Earlier in the week, Health Minister Sajid Javid announced that full vaccination against COVID-19 would be mandatory for first-line staff at NHS public hospitals in England from 1 April.
An estimated 103,000 doctors, nurses and administrators remain unvaccinated, or about 8% of the English NHS staff.
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