A question for NHS staff - have you refused the vaccine? Is it mandatory?

[noshiforever]

I just want to ask if any of you have refused the vaccine? Is it mandatory? Would you be ostracised by your colleagues if you refused? Does anyone refuse?

Just being nosy!

My immunocompromised relative in their 70s was admitted to hospital last night. They've had both vaccines but no confirmation yet if it worked, as their immune system doesn't work properly.

I bloody hope that none of the staff treating them have refused the vaccine.

Because it makes a mockery of giving patients the best possible care.

It's mainly known where I work as we all had to make time to go and get the jab and then most of us ended up having a day off feeling crap with side effects.

Not mandatory in my hospital either, but all of my clinical team have had it, and only one of the admin team have declined. I don’t feel her reasons are valid, but they’re are hers, and I don’t believe anyone should have drugs they don’t want. Currently this does not affect the job role she does.
All clinical staff are PCR tested once a week, and/or LFT twice a week, whether or not they have had the vaccine. Admin staff are not compelled to do this, although it is encouraged.

@Ostara212 it was really known who did and didn't as we were giving them out in-house!

Yeah we all know who’s had it as we’ve done it in house and then chatted about any reactions.

[quote Pinchoftums]@Ostara212 it was really known who did and didn't as we were giving them out in-house![/quote]
Oh I see
Sorry, I've only worked in offices so far.

I wouldn’t even be able to tell you which of my colleagues have or haven’t had the vaccine. It’s not exactly something you announce is it?
I had the first, then got pregnant and declined the second. I’ve not told anyone I’ve turned the second down.
A colleague the other day had to have an hour off to go and have her first dose, when the first doses were done for us generally first week of January. I only know that because she was booking it while I was on the desk next to her.
Honestly people, generally, don’t care half as much as you think they will... and even if they do, what kind of a person would openly express an opinion?! Not one I’d be interested in listening to 🤷🏼‍♀️

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

"I'm guessing it's because NHS workers have more direct experience of the harm COVID can cause, and have been run ragged in the past 15 months, so may be perceived as less likely to be patient with the 'I'll take my chances' brigade? (I'm not NHS but that's how I read it)"

That's how most of us started, but after 15 months, 10 months of which there was no vaccine being available, you have to kind of take on the "I'll take my chances" attitude, if that makes sense. Otherwise we'd all have been rocking in a corner this time last year (and I basically was!). That's not to say I'm flippant about the harm that covid can cause: we have had staff members be seriously ill at my hospital and end up in ICU, and sadly several who died directly from covid. But by now I'd say most of my colleagues are a bit numb to thinking about the risks from covid anymore. Probably not the healthiest attitude, but there you go. Whatever gets you through.

Vaccinating NHS staff isn't for our direct benefit, it's to prevent us from passing it onto patients and being off sick from work. Morally I think having the vaccine is the right thing to do, as it hopefully prevents me from passing anything onto my patients or family and friends. But if we go back to January, then yes I was nervous about having a vaccine that had been tested on 40,000 people, and I could understand if some of my colleagues were apprehensive enough not to go ahead. It is still their body and their choice. I wouldn't want my colleagues to feel forced into deciding to have it because they felt pressure from other people.

@C25KDropOut from what I've heard, emotionally numb is probably the sanest response after what you've all been through

But C25KDropOut, can't you still pass it on even when vaccinated?

Still early days for data about how vaccines affect transmission, but if there's a reduction in my chance of catching covid in the first place, then it should reduce the risk of passing it on to others. Can't pass covid on if I don't catch it in the first place 🤷‍♀️. But obviously not proved yet and it won't be 100%, so we're still wearing masks and testing ourselves with lateral flow test every 3 - 4 days.

I'm in a research study that was originally looking into how long antibodies last and if they protect against reinfection, and is now also looking into the effectiveness of vaccines. I haven't got natural antibodies, we get tested for covid with a PCR test every 2 weeks and an antibody blood test every month. They can tell the difference between natural antibodies and vaccine antibodies on the blood test apparently. Initial results look promising that vaccines stop asymptomatic infection, and therefore help prevent transmission:

publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2021/03/11/the-siren-study-answering-the-big-questions/

Thanks for doing the study! C25KDropOut