Sajid Javid admits he is ‘leaning towards’ making Covid vaccines compulsory for all NHS staff

Unvaccinated NHS staff are set to be told to get their Covid jabs or lose their jobs under plans being considered by the Government. 

Some 100,000 healthcare workers — or seven per cent of NHS employees — are still yet to show up for even their first dose.

But Health Secretary Sajid Javid admitted today he was ‘leaning towards’ making the jabs compulsory for all NHS workers.

He said those who had failed to get even their first dose were leaving seriously ill patients at risk of catching and dying from the virus. 

Care home staff are already required to get the Covid vaccine to work in the sector, with all expected to be jabbed by November 11.

But many care homes have warned this will spark chaos and could lead to homes having to close or break the law because they can’t find enough vaccinated workers.

Studies show vaccines are safe and slash the risk of someone becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus. They also reduce the risk of catching it in the first place. 

When asked whether Covid vaccines will be made compulsory for NHS workers, Mr Javid told Sky News: ‘I’m leaning towards doing it.

‘There’s around 100,000 that are not (vaccinated in the NHS) at this point but what we saw with the care sector is that when we announced the policy… then we saw many more people come forward and do the right thing and get vaccinated.

‘That’s what I hope, if we can do the same thing with the NHS, we will see.’

He added: ‘If they haven’t got vaccinated by now then there is an issue about patient safety and that’s something the Government will take very seriously.’

No final decision on the plans has been made, and Mr Javid said it would take ‘some time’ to go through parliament — giving people time to get jabbed.  

But he added: ‘I don’t want to put a timeframe on it but it wouldn’t be months and months.’

On Times radio, Mr Javid said: ‘We’ve been very clear and open about this, working with our friends in the NHS, and the reason for this is if you’re working in the NHS, that fantastic work you’re doing every day, you yourself are more susceptible to this virus because you’re just much more likely to come into contact with it. 

‘But also the people that you’re looking after are more vulnerable and that’s why they’re in hospital, they’ve got health needs, and this is about protecting them and protecting yourself.’ 

NHS leaders have a ‘mixed’ view on compulsory vaccines for NHS workers, Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said.

She told Times Radio: ‘We’ve spoken to our members about this, and it’s a bit of a mixed picture because most of them agree that in some ways, mandating the vaccine could be quite helpful to make sure that more people get the vaccine.

‘But on the other hand, if some people decide they don’t want the vaccine that could lead to staff recruitment and retention problems and we’re going into this incredibly challenging winter.

‘If we start to lose staff during this time that could be incredibly challenging, so it’s a it’s a real balance.’

Jeremy Brown, professor of respiratory medicine at University College London Hospitals, who sits on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, told Sky News: ‘If you’re frontline NHS staff dealing with patients and meeting the general public you should be vaccinated – it’s a professional thing, it’s a safety thing.

‘We know that quite a few infections have occurred in the hospital have potentially come from staff rather than patients.

‘And if you’re not vaccinated, I feel, you shouldn’t be dealing with patients or the general public – whether it should be compulsory it is always a tricky thing, but I do think it professionally each person should be vaccinated.’

He said he would not answer a question about whether staff should lose their jobs if they were not vaccinated, but added: ‘I think they should change their role, perhaps, not lose their job.’