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Health Minister Sajid Javid said on Tuesday that health workers in England must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 1, making it a mandatory employment condition for frontline personnel in the National Health Service (NHS) .
This move made England follow the example of France, Italy and some states in the United States, requiring medical staff to be vaccinated.
“All people who work in the NHS and social care must be vaccinated. We must avoid preventable injuries, protect NHS patients, protect NHS colleagues, and of course the NHS itself,” Javid told Parliament.
“We intend to enforce this condition from April 1.”
Javid said that for people who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons and those who have no face-to-face contact with the patient, compulsory vaccination can be exempted.
The move follows a similar decision that took effect on Thursday, requiring nursing home staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Javid said that the consultation of health workers also considered mandatory flu vaccines. He said that at this stage he would not introduce a requirement for a flu vaccine, but added that this option still exists.
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