I've had my vaccination and gladly, but I have concerns over all of this, more so in light of the fact that from August if I live with or have had close contact with a positive case, I'll be expected to go to work, having done an LFT daily, or until I get symptoms, or until I test positive on my weekly PCR test.
As the guidance will have been changed, I will not be paid if I don't go to work, and risk disciplinary action because it'll be considered unauthorised until the point I test positive, I have already seen demands that despite the guidance changing on this to the above, with the possible concequences for the workers, we should isolate anyway because of our "duty of care".
The same "duty of care" that people are using to demand care workers are vaccinated.
How exactly are you going to blame care workers now, when those working are double vaccinated as decreed, yet covid goes through homes again and people die, because staff are working while being a risk, and that's been also mandated by government?
How can anyone possibly think, that in light of the above policy, any of this is about protecting the vulnerable? We have been now pushed into a situation of knowingly risking infecting our clients or risk losing income or employment all together.
It's about the government using this as a sidestep from providing proper funding and support to care workers to care for their residents safely, across the board, not just during covid, and dodging the nasty questions about their duty of care with regards to the scandal last year of discharging untested people into settings full of vulnerable people, lack of PPE, lack of financial support for isolating workers, lack of training, just about zero accountability of care providing companies and government when things go wrong and now this policy of basically working when you're a known risk.
Add to that the fact that the country is opening up, that will increase the risk, and that unvaccinated visitors are being welcomed back into care settings, and you have a recipe for disaster again. If it truly were about protecting the vulnerable, then all feasible measures would be being taken, not one, cherry picked and whipping the public into a frenzy about.
The other issue I have is that no one has seemed to even consider why uptake might be low in the care sector. Vaccination for anything has never been an expectation of a care job, I've never (and I'm not the only one by a long shot) been even asked about my vaccination status for anything, it's never been a consideration before, therefore knowledge and expectations are completely different for the care sector than for nursing or medical settings. It's never been seen as necessary to protect either the workers or the residents.
Access to flu vaccination for example was until recently, a lottery. Rather than seen as important and lifesaving and part of an overall duty of care, it was more like if you're on shift and the nurse has a spare, you can have it. I couldn't attend to have my flu vaccine this year, I have been pinged between my own surgery, the surgery that covers the home and my employer when I've enquired - because it's just not a 'thing' in care work. There's no mechanism, no policy that deals with this like in medical settings.
Lack of knowledge and awareness is imo, the biggest issue here, where uptake is concerned, and comparison with nursing or medical settings is like comparing apples and oranges.
But instead of a targeted campaign of education and information regarding vaccination, and a comprehensive program to vaccinate care workers and clients against anything, including covid, that are communicable and dangerous to the vulnerable, we've got a mandatory vaccination with a vaccine that's been around less than a year and society shouting that unless we dive on the needle willingly shouting how blessed we are to do the job, we're selfish and in the wrong job.
Infection control training and provision is woefully inadequate in social care, provision of PPE until covid, was based on cost rather than need, and is in abundance now because it's being supplied by the NHS, it should have already been in place, it should have already been a priority, it wasn't, and the care providers who have locked away PPE, only to be used in the most dire circumstances, have escaped being accountable for this, yet again, because it's been overshadowed by "selfish" care workers and vaccination.
The rot in social care is from the top, and this is a step too far for some care workers. I for one am sick to the back teeth of people bleating on about duty of care for me, when those above me, the governing bodies and care providers are failing so massively around care in general and covid.
It's easier though to point the finger at the bottom of the pile and successfully divert public attention away from the bigger issues that are having far more impact on quality of care, because they'll cost money. The money for covid vaccination has already been spent.
And because of the way care workers are perceived by society in general, yet again, our worries, opinions and concerns, based in real actual working knowledge of what we and our residents face every day, is being shouted down. Us, and the residents, don't have a voice, and if we dare to stick our head above the parapet, we're shot down in a sea of selfish care workers and vaccination cries.
It's not good enough.
Also, due to the above points, this is likely to lead to people leaving an already understaffed industry, and put care standards more at risk than they already are.
No one is listening when care workers are saying they've had enough, they need more support, I for one feel blackmailed into accepting anything other people decide to place upon me (low wages, poor training, poor working conditions, lack of equipment and supplies, lack of adequate staffing, mandatory vaccination and the blame when it all goes wrong) under the guise of duty of care and you should do it because you love it.
Workers like me, fully vaccinated, are hanging on by a thread right now. Exhausted from the measures we need to work under, from being short staffed in general and then more so due to isolating colleagues (and no the answer is not remove isolation, it's bloody well provide enough staff, which is for care providers and government to do by improving conditions) and we're going to burn out and leave too, because let's face it, I can go and stack shelves in Aldi for more money and less public blame than what I'm doing now. I can love my job all I like, but I shouldn't be expected to put my physical and mental health on the line, or my financial (almost!) Stability on the line to protect others when there's alternatives that could be in place, but care providers profit and government coffers being full is deemed as more important.
The people who will really suffer though are those who are in need of the care, I can leave. They can't.