The Government plans to scrap the requirement for health and social care workers in England to be vaccinated against coronavirus to continue in their roles following a consultation.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons he believes it is “no longer proportionate” to require vaccination as a condition of deployment under law.
He said it is only right to review the policy, given that the Delta variant, dominant at the time the policy was announced, has now been replaced by the less severe Omicron.
This, combined with greater population protection as a result of the vaccines, means it is “not only right but responsible to revisit the balance of risks and opportunities that guided our original decision last year”, he said.
Mr Javid said the Government will seek “fresh advice”, including from the Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty, and the UK Health Security Agency.
Announcing a consultation, he told the House of Commons: “Subject to the responses and the will of this house, the Government will revoke the regulations.
“I have always been clear that our rules must remain proportionate and balanced, and of course, should we see another dramatic change in the virus, it would be only responsible to review this policy again.”
Ministers have been facing pressure to put back the requirement for staff in England to be double jabbed by April amid fears it will lead to a major staffing crisis.
Figures published last week by NHS England show that 127,515 NHS and domiciliary care staff working in registered settings had not had a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as of January 23 – ahead of the February 3 deadline for first doses.
The requirement for care home staff to have two doses came into force last November, with one charity accusing the Government of using the sector as “the trial run for the NHS”.
Care home employers who had already dismissed employees since November 11 were complying with the law at the time, and the law will remain in place pending consultation and Parliamentary process.
The revoking of the policy would mean it no longer applies to anyone deployed into care homes, including visiting professionals.
Mr Javid said everyone working in health and social care has a professional duty to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and that the Government “makes no apology” for the initial policy.
But he acknowledged that there will always be some who will walk away from their jobs over getting the jab, adding: “We have to consider the impact on the workforce in NHS and social care settings, especially at a time when we already have a shortage of workers and near full employment across the economy.”
While the Government is seeking to end the legal mandate, he has written to health regulators asking them to urgently review guidance to registrants on vaccinations “to emphasise their professional responsibilities in this area”.
He has also asked the NHS to review its policies on hiring new staff and deploying current staff, taking into account their vaccination status.
The chief executives of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, Matthew Taylor and Chris Hopson, said NHS leaders are “frustrated” at the 11th-hour policy change as they and their teams raced to meet the February 3 deadline.
The pair also said the U-turn will cause similar frustration for the care home sector “given the disruption to service delivery that resulted from loss of staff last November”.
The Homecare Association said it was pleased that there will be a consultation as it has always opposed mandatory vaccination, but said they needed “immediate clarity” about the short-term implications given the February 3 deadline.
In a letter to NHS trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard asked employers not to serve notice of termination to employees affected by the regulations.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, a charity representing care providers, said: “In our response to the consultation to the second tranche of making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector, Care England appealed for lessons to be learned from the legislation process around regulations for care home staff.
“These were not taken on board. Care homes have been the scapegoat and whilst the Government claims that health and social care are the same system it is clear that they are operating under different standards – once again social care is the poor relation.”
It is understood further details on the consultation will be confirmed in due course.
