Government could U-turn on mandatory jabs for NHS and care staff

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has this morning defended last year’s decision to plan mandatory jabs for frontline NHS workers.

This follows this morning’s reports from the Telegraph newspaper that the decision will be scrapped prior to February’s scheduled rollout.

Since 11 November 2021 social care staff have been required to show proof of Covid vaccination or medical exemption.

Almost 4,000 unvaccinated care staff lost their job in the first week of the mandate, and is is estimated that 40,000 in total have lost their jobs as a result since November.

Simon Clarke told BBC Breakfast earlier today that the delta variant had taken a “very high toll” on the UK’s public health and that the announcement of mandatory Covid jabs for NHS staff had thus been justified.

“I think that was absolutely the right and proportionate thing to do,” Mr Clarke went on.

However he added that: “Since that time, the omicron variant has become dominant, what we know about that is it is much more transmissible and while still dangerous it is somewhat less so than delta.

“Any decision taken today will reflect the fact that those fundamental facts have changed but the extent to which it allows us to move policy on this is something that will be decided later.”