UK: VACCINE COULD BE MADE COMPULSORY FOR NHS STAFF, MINISTER SAYS

Sun 30 May 2021:

The UK government is mulling compulsory coronavirus vaccinations for National Health Service staff, the minister for COVID-19 vaccine deployment told the BBC.

“It would be irresponsible for us as a government and ministers not to ask that question, not to think about it and consider it, because clearly, people [are] being infected in hospital through COVID … who are very fragile. There is a precedent for this of course,” Nadhim Zahawi said.

The vaccines minister added that surgeons are required to get vaccinated against Hepatitis B prior to operating patients because there is a responsibility to protect those who are most vulnerable and therefore, the same possibility should be explored in terms of COVID-19 vaccines.

Zahawi also called for caution as the country is to ease lockdown on June 21.

“We have to look at the data and share it with the country; are we still vaccinating at scale? Big tick. Are the vaccines working? Yes. But are infection rates too high for us to then not be able to proceed because there are too many people going into hospital?” Zahawi continued.

The minister reassured that even though the answer is unknown to the last question, he hopes it will become clearer by June 14.

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