This rule was to come into force in April. The government justifies its abandonment by the rise of the Omicron variant and its lesser gravity.
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The vaccination obligation which was to come into force in April for caregivers in the public health service in England has been abandoned, the British government announced on Tuesday March 1. Health Minister Sajid Javid justified this choice by English vaccination coverage and the lesser severity of the Omicron variant.
The government had announced in November that vaccination against Covid-19 would become compulsory for these caregivers, but only in April, explaining that it wanted to avoid weakening hospitals during the winter.
When the initial decision was made, “the Delta variant was dominant”Sajid Javid said in a statement on Tuesday. “It has since been replaced by Omicron which is less severe, with the percentage of people needing emergency care or hospital admission that has been halved compared to the Delta variant”.
According to him, “with a better immunized population and lower hospital admission rates, it was the right thing to do to study again” the decision, rejected by 90% of the 90,000 participants in a public consultation on the subject.
The minister, however, underlined the “professional liability” caregivers to get vaccinated. Employees of retirement homes in England were already affected by a vaccination obligation. It will no longer apply from March 15.
England has already lifted the majority of restrictions still in place in the country, including the end of mandatory isolation for positive cases.