10 September 2021
The Government has launched a consultation on proposals for mandating COVID-19 and flu vaccinations for frontline health and social care workers in England. The AOP confirmed it would be looking further into the details of the proposal and emphasised that optometry must be part of the discourse.
The consultation considers whether health and wider social care workers in contact with patients should be required to have COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, meaning only those fully vaccinated – unless medically exempt – could be deployed to deliver health and care services.
Launched on 9 September, the consultation runs for six weeks and will seek views on the proposal, its scope and potential impact on staffing and safety. Staff, healthcare providers, stakeholders and patients are encouraged to participate in the consultation. A final decision is expected this winter.
Responding to the announcement, chief executive of the AOP, Adam Sampson, highlighted the “vital role” optometrists have played in providing face-to-face patient care, adding: “As such, any proposal that considers whether frontline staff in health and wider care settings in England should be required to have COVID-19 and flu vaccines must include optometry.”
Considering the suggested vaccination policies, he explained: “Under the current proposal, we understand that hospital optometrists will be required to have the COVID-19 vaccination, if they haven’t already, and we will be looking at the detail of the proposal to understand how this will be extended to optometry in the community.”
Optical staff were included as a priority group in the early phases of the vaccination roll-out as a part of primary healthcare, Sampson noted, “So it is likely that if the proposal is supported, there will be a case to support the roll-out to those providing face-to-face eye care in the community as well.”
The consultation follows a recent decision that will require professionals entering care homes to have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by 11 November, unless exempt. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) Social Care Working Group advised that there is a “strong scientific case” for similar approaches to vaccination in NHS inpatient settings as there will be in care homes due to overlapping networks of patients and workers.
The Government suggested the proposals could help to protect vulnerable patients and staff, arguing that this is particularly important “where extensive unexpected staff absences can put added pressure on already hardworking clinicians providing patient care during busy periods like winter.”
The Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that this winter will be the first in the UK when SARS-CoV-2 is expected to circulate alongside other respiratory viruses, such as flu, suggesting this could “significantly contribute to the NHS’s winter pressures.”
Reports suggest 92% of NHS trust staff have had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 88% have had both doses.
However, the Government has suggested there is variation in uptake between NHS trusts, with data showing that uptake rates can vary from approximately 78% to 94% for both doses.
Meanwhile, flu vaccination rates in the health service increased to 76% in 2020 from 14% in 2002, though the Government highlighted that rates can drop to 53% in some settings.
Discussing the launch of the consultation, Sampson shared: “We know the majority of our members asked for the same protections as frontline healthcare staff, including access to personal protective equipment, altered working conditions, and early access to the vaccine, and a large majority of the UK adult population have already chosen to be vaccinated.”
He continued: “While encouraging uptake of the vaccination is the best way of protecting people, particularly the vulnerable, from COVID-19, we also accept that there are disparate views, and the implementation of any decision that makes vaccination a condition of deployment will need to be handled with sensitivity.”
The AOP will be submitting a response to the consultation, informed by member feedback.
Commenting on the proposals, health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “It’s so clear to see the impact vaccines have against respiratory viruses which can be fatal to the vulnerable, and that’s why we’re exploring mandatory vaccines for both COVID-19 and flu.”
Also responding to the announcement, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “As it stands, the vast majority of NHS staff have already chosen to be vaccinated, and the important thing is to make sure those who have yet to be vaccinated are supported to do so.”
He suggested that emphasising “education and communication with staff” would be crucial – even if the mandate is put into place, adding “the focus must remain on increasing vaccine confidence, and the approach taken to date to encourage uptake through informed consent remains the preferred option.”
More information on the consultation can be found on the Government website.
Comments (9)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in
Anonymous03 October 2021
Studies are showing natural immunity is better than vaccinated immunity.
This well respected doctor goes through the evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bamaEMftg4
There is no need for people who have had covid-19 to get vaccinated.
Also, as has been pointed out already, we simply do not know the long term side effects from this new tech and we won't know it for years.
It is perfectly logical for people who are vaccine-hesitant to want long term data on vaccine safety.
Report Like 223
Anonymous30 September 2021
The world has suffered an extraordinary mania over a disease with an average age of death greater than the normal average age of death! While vaccination makes perfect sense for vulnerable people, there is no evidence that it stops transmission. It must, therefore, be a personal choice whether to get vaccinated. Mandatory vaccination and “vaccine passports” are, frankly, abhorrent. If we really want to improve health and “protect the NHS”, we should provide ways to assist people lose weight and get fit.
Report Like 249
Anonymous17 September 2021
How can anyone be expected to "trust the science" when the government has been manipulating it to suit their agenda. One only needs to look at references like this https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4425#ref-1 to realise not is always as it is portrayed in the media. I don't believe mandatory vaccination is fair.
Report Like 327
Anonymous16 September 2021
The fact that so many people have said and given their thumbs up approval shows there are many people out there who are not convinced about this drug which was produced in a matter of months. They are simply not prepared to be 'cancelled' for speaking out.
This is the state of the world we now live in. People can't voice their honest concerns any more.
No other drug in history has been allowed through with such speed and with such a lowered stadard of safety.
All other previous drugs that have produced even a fraction of the side effects of this drug during the testing phase have never made it to phase 3 trials.
It's very scary that the government and medical authorities are so eager to push this through and force people to take it, even if their risk of serious complications is astonishingly low.
As has been pointed out, taking the covid-19 vaccine does not stop an individual from passing covid-19 onto others. All it does is lessen your symptoms.
Report Like 290
Anonymous16 September 2021
Until long term safely data is available on the vaccines, it is unethical to force or pressure any individual into any form of medical procedure against their will. This goes against the Nuremberg code and is a violation of human rights.
Report Like 310
Anonymous16 September 2021
Mandatory procedures are completely immoral and will result in law suits being filed. Professionals spend their entire working life studying and building a practice, they should not be forced into taking a medical procedure they are not comfortable with. Clearly there is an agenda you have to be very simple not to see what is going on .
Let us not lump everyone together who asks a question of the Science, which ironically is a very scientific thing to do, and treat everyone as uninformed idiots. The jabs don’t stop you getting or giving Covid. Aop should not be pushing this on its members and should be protecting its members.
Report Like 297
Anonymous13 September 2021
"It is imperative that healthcare professionals are aware and know how to interpret scientific results." ... could not agree more thats why I won't be getting vaccinated.
One of the strangest things about the last few months on planet Earth has been the relentless drive to vaccinate everyone,
regardless of what their individual risk from the virus is, and whether or not they’ve already had the disease.
It was well known long before covid came along that people who have had an infection are usually at least as well protected as those who get vaccinated.
The whole point of vaccination is, after all, to mimic infection so as to stimulate immunity.
If you’ve had measles, you don’t need to take the measles vaccine. If you’ve had hepatitis A, you don’t need to take the hepatitis A vaccine.
If you’ve had chickenpox, you don’t need to take the chickenpox vaccine. Yet if you’ve had covid, you should supposedly still take the covid vaccine. Strange.
A study, published in The Lancet in April, that showed a 93% decreased risk of re-infection in people who had already had covid.
That would make prior infection equivalent to the most effective vaccines, in terms of its ability to protect against covid
Report Like 290
Anonymous12 September 2021
I disagree with mandatory vaccinations.
There are many caring, intelligent people out there who have genuine concerns about a vaccine that was created in a matter of months and for which no one knows about the long-term side effects (no matter how people spin it).
Just as one example, some doctors (such as Charles Hoff) have said it permanently increases your risk of blood clots, which he was able to show with D-dimer testing. If this is true, then the vaccine will shorten your lifespan. When he asked his local health board how to proceed, he was shut down and suspended simply for asking how he should proceed.
When these sorts of things happen, it makes some people nervous.
I'm certainly not suggesting his words are gospel but it does make some people think it might be better to wait until longer term studies have been done.
Hesitant individuals, quite rightly, are weighing up the benefit vs risk, which is what any person should do before undergoing a medical procedure. Especially as this is not a traditional vaccine.
I personally know of two individuals who were vaccinated and ended up in critical care a few days/weeks later. One is a healthy young girl who had blood clots in her lungs. The other was a 40-year-old healthy male who had a brain clot. Of course, I appreciate this is a minority case but the point is it wouldn't have happened if they weren't vaccinated. That’s the sort of thing the hesitant individual is thinking about: “The risk of serious complications from covid-19 is very low. Should I really take a vaccine which has a chance of causing serious complications? And what about the long term effects in 5+ years time?”
I think it is grossly unfair to exclude unvaccinated individuals from society. And even worse, refusing to treat them or let them work.
By that argument, you shouldn't treat overweight people or smokers who have heart disease because it's was their choice for not looking after their health.
People who are hesitant to get the jabs are not anti-vaxxers. They have had all sorts of vaccinations in the past. The difference is that those vaccinations have been around for decades. These folks would just rather wait until some longer-term data is available before having an irreversible medical procedure for a vaccine that is very new and works by a different principle to traditional vaccines. That seems very reasonable to me.
I don't think these individuals should be vilified for this. Creating two camps will only lead to mistrust and bad feelings.
Also, forcing someone to have a medical procedure is highly unethical and violates their human rights.
I appreciate the argument that it is putting patients at risk. I am sure these hesitant individuals would be perfectly happy to wear PPE gear. Surely that is a reasonable middle ground until their concerns are alleviated?
I hope I have conveyed that there are genuine concerns some people have so please don't vilify them or force them into doing something they have concerns about.
Report Like 305
Anonymous10 September 2021
In my opinion, every healthcare professional refusing to be vaccineted shouldbe removed from the register. It is imperative that healthcare professionals are aware and know how to interpret scientific results. If they are not able to see the benefits from the results shown by the vaccination roll-out, how are they going to be able to advise patients on treatments for their conditions? It is a no-brainer!
Report Like 255