Telegraph is reporting vaccine to be compulsory for care home workers

[bathsh3ba]

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/22/care-home-staff-face-compulsory-covid-vaccination/

I feel quite uncomfortable with the idea of making any vaccine compulsory....

Thoughts?

@whymewhyme

I respect your right to choose and don’t agree with enforced vaccines but I have to say, comments like this ” You could always do it yourself but your not going to do that are you.” are at odds with your claim you deliver excellent quality care. Surely, as a care worker, it’s obvious why some people can’t be cared for by family?!

Agree with @Maverickess
Uptake of the vaccine in health and social care has been good. This should afford enough protection to very vulnerable individuals. Those who decline the vaccine can continue to be tested and wearing a higher level of PPE.

@LoveCauliflowerCheese

I think my issue with compulsory covid vaccinations is that it may well end up needing to be an annual thing and it is not uncommon for people to have side effects that leave them feeling unwell enough to need time off work. This has an impact on quality of life as well as financially (no pay for first 4 days of sickness on SSP).

Dying of Covid or Long Covid is surely worse than feeling a bit crap for a couple of days?!

Jeeze get a grip!

But it’s not exactly an either/or situation is it? Covid is mild/asymptomatic in 80% of cases. It’s not exactly a ‘get the vaccine or die’ scenario.

@bumbleymummy turns up on all these types of threads, don’t feed her.

I just saw this on the news this evening. What I find most interesting is that they are focussing on care homes and making covid vaccination compulsory for staff, not the NHS (yet)

I can't help but wonder if care homes are an easier target - nhs staff have the backing of multiple unions and I can see that there would be a lot harder to make it compulsory for NHS patient facing staff, although I'm sure there would be high public support for compulsory nhs staff vaccination.

I've been vaccinated as an nhs staff member and have spent several hours trying to convince a couple of members of my teams to be vaccinated, arranged for them to discuss their fears with an expert etc, and they are still adamant they won't have it (the vast majority have).

But I do wonder if they are going to make care home staff vaccination compulsory if they will also do the same for visitors - why should an unvaccinated visitor be allowed in if care staff can't be?

Also, care homes staff are amongst some of the hardest workers, on low pay - the job needs to be more attractive, not less and removing bodily autonomy is a slippery slope.

And yet, the government are STILL not accepting full accountability for insisting patients were sent back or admitted to residential homes with no covid swab or with covid which let it spread to some of the most vulnerable in society.

I know someone who works in a setting with vulnerable people who she is responsible with others for looking after. Most of the staff have refused to even do ltfs and she won't get the vaccine as it's "just flu". I think the people in her care are sitting ducks. I think a lot of places advertise that all staff have been offered a vaccine and we have regular testing...what they don't say publicly is that staff looking after vulnerable people can opt out. I think unless exempt it should be mandatory. It's true that care staff are paid peanuts for what they do but that is a separate issue.

Mandatory vaccines are already a part of being in health care. This is juts another one now added to the list.

[quote Druidlookingidiot]@bumbleymummy turns up on all these types of threads, don’t feed her.[/quote]
The 80% figure comes from the WHO @Druidlookingidiot.

Here’s another study from the UK:

www.dovepress.com/three-quarters-of-people-with-sars-cov-2-infection-are-asymptomatic-an-peer-reviewed-article-CLEP#

@SD1978

Mandatory vaccines are already a part of being in health care. This is juts another one now added to the list.

Several people who work in care homes have already posted saying they have never been told they needed any vaccine to work. Hell, I worked in a hospital for 10 years with no need for jabs too.

@XenoBitch - as a student before going into wards for placements I did- as did everyone I know.

[quote SD1978]@XenoBitch - as a student before going into wards for placements I did- as did everyone I know. [/quote]
I was a porter.. I helped move patients and also dealt with the deceased. Was never asked about my vaccine record, and was never required to get any jabs. My manager put the pressure on about the flu jab.. but then also said severe side effects is not a reason to take time off.
I did train as an ODP and had to have several jabs though... although as an ODP you are in theatre with massive open wounds. I did resist the vaccines they asked of me because I have a massive needle phobia.

It should be compulsory! And for those of us in frontline NHS roles as well.

It wouldn't be anything new, there are already compulsory vaccines for working in healthcare and have been for a long time. I didn't give it a second though having them nor did I think it was an infringement on my rights. I chose that profession and vaccines were part of the deal to work. If people don't like it, there are many other jobs out there where their choice not to have vaccine would not directly increase risk to very vunerable people. People in care have a right to be safe.

Turn it around, how would you feel if you were one of my patients and mid examination I happen to mention I refused the vaccine. I suspect a lot of people would be very unhappy with that!

Turn it around, how would you feel if you were one of my patients and mid examination I happen to mention I refused the vaccine. I suspect a lot of people would be very unhappy with that!

Why would you be talking about yourself to a patient? That is a big no no.

Patients ask me if I've had the vaccine all the time. Why would I not answer them?

If children were most likely to get seriously ill with Covid, many on here would be demanding that school staff had to get vaccinated. Care Homes were a major hotbed of infection and deaths so everybody in them should be vaccinated if possible. Covid isn't going to be eradicated but we need to control it the best we can. The NHS has a shocking backlog to catch up on and we can't risk every lockdowns when outbreaks occur.

@PreachyGreen

How are people supposed to prove they've had it? Are vaccination passports a thing after all?

I'm just wondering why the government would tackle the issue this way when it will cause as many problems as it solves. I think they must see it as a way to achieve something less popular.

Yes. If you and your dr are signed up To the patient accesss nhs app - The vaccine appears under medicines administered in your online record. Accessible via your phone 24/7. Free.

This is going to cause an even bigger recruitment crisis surely? Hello young and healthy person, would you like a vaccine to do a job we will pay you the minimum wage for when we don’t know the longer term effects of it?

Perfectly reasonable requirement.
If the care worker doesn’t want the vaccine, get a different job that does not require one.

I work in care currently and am due to ho back to work this month after maternity leave. I went for my vaccine and was told they cannot say for certain that it would not affect my baby as I am breastfeeding and there have been no studies on this, same goes for pregnancy or ttc. She was clear that they could not guarantee my baby's safety. Why should I be forced to have a vaccine that could potentially damage my baby? I personally took the risk but I would not judge anyone who didnt. Care workers are treated dreadfully for pitiful wages without being told we have no right to our own bodies

Why should I be forced to have a vaccine that could potentially damage my baby?

“Why should I be forced to have a vaccine that could potentially damage my baby if I personally want to keep working there?”. There. Fixed that for you. Ans the answer has been given on the thread multiple times. Because the vulnerable people you care for need to be protected and they are not there through choice. Unlike you.

No they shouldn't make it compulsory at all it's up to the care worker not the government. The vaccine only reduces the symptoms and that's all. Care staff have been through crap the entire year and dealing with stressful situations. I have been there and done it and now Left. I seen 12 residents die off covid and others seriously ill. All because the hospital sent back a resident who tested positive for covid and then it caused a massive breakout in the home. Carers then off with covid and the remaining carers had to pick up the strain. No breaks all for 12 hours.

I would like to see some of you try care work. You would not last a single shift. All for crap pay. Yes I got put of residential care and work in social care in another role.

And yes I had my vaccine before anyone asks

The vaccine only reduces the symptoms and that's all

Maybe you should research a little more into the benefits of the vaccine.