Prof Allyson Pollock, Clinical Professor of Public Health, University of Newcastle, said:

“The snap vote, taken yesterday in the House of Commons (and in the absence of a needs assessment and proper debate) which enables imposition of mandatory vaccination of care workers is unethical, needless and disproportionate and undermines human rights.  It is the start of a slippery slope to impose other requriements and to extend compulsory vaccination to other groups.  It overturns 120 years of vaccination legislation and policy which has been built on trust, medical confidentiality and informed consent.

“Scotland and Wales are correct not to follow suit.

“Our editorial https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/374/bmj.n1684.full.pdf.”

Dr Peter English, Retired Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, Former Editor of Vaccines in Practice, Immediate past Chair of the BMA Public Health Medicine Committee, said:

“Given that:

– older people are less likely to respond to Covid-19 vaccines satisfactorily;

– they are most vulnerable if they are infected with Covid-19;

– they are most likely to be infected by care home staff; and

– the growing evidence that being fully vaccinated makes you less likely to be infected, and less likely to be infectious if you are infected…

“…it is entirely reasonable that it should be a requirement that all care home staff without a valid contraindication should be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

“There is precedent for this in, for example, the requirement for healthcare workers in certain roles to be immune (usually through vaccination) to hepatitis B, and/or immune to or fully vaccinated against chickenpox, measles, and rubella.

“It becomes a condition of employment in such roles.  Where possible in an organisation individuals who refuse may be redeployed to other roles; but this might entail a drop in salary, and if not possible, they may have to find another job.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:

www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

Declared interests

None received.