NHS staff in England who are yet to receive their coronavirus vaccine face the sack in just two weeks according to reports.
Frontline healthcare workers must have been double-jabbed by April 1, meaning the first dose needs to have been administered by February 3 the Telegraph reports.
Six per cent of the NHS workforce - some 80,000 staff - remain unvaccinated.
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NHS guidance to employees says unvaccinated frontline staff could be called into formal meetings from February 4, and warned that they could be dismissed.
The paper reports that dismissal notices will start being issued from that day, with the notice period ending on March 31.
As reported by Wales Online, Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS England national medical director said: "The NHS has always been clear that the life-saving Covid vaccination is the best protection against the virus and, while it is currently a recommendation for health and care staff to be vaccinated, it will soon become a legal requirement.
"The overwhelming majority of staff in NHS organisations, nine in 10, have already had their second jab, and NHS employers will continue to support and encourage staff who have not yet been vaccinated to take up the offer of the first and second doses ahead of April 1, when regulations come into effect."
However, the Royal College of Nursing has called for a delay to the new law on mandatory Covid-19 testing for NHS staff in England.
Pat Cullen, RCN's General Secretary & Chief Executive, said: “Nothing matters more to a nurse than caring for their patients safely. Right now, our members are telling me they can’t always do that.
“We’re calling on the government to recognise this risk and delay a move which, by its own calculations, looks set to backfire. To dismiss valued nursing staff during this crisis would be an act of self-sabotage.
“Encouraging people to get vaccinated is the best way to boost vaccine take-up. Nursing staff, who are well-placed to understand people’s concerns and are highly trusted by them, have led the COVID-19 vaccination programme and have a key role to play in addressing any concerns people may have about being vaccinated.”
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