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Can't be vaccinated. What happens to me re work, travel etc?

146 replies

MrsFelicianoLopez · 30/07/2021 16:58

As the title says really. I am not having the Covid vaccine for medical reasons. Does anybody who works in government know exactly what the proposals are for people like me (I live in England) from September when the domestic Covid passports come in (fingers crossed they don't get through parliament!) please?

i.e. can my employer fire me because I'm not vaccinated? (ref. Grant Shapps today saying that he supports businesses who insist their employees have the vaccine). Will I ever be able to travel anywhere again?! If it's relevant, I have Covid antibodies thanks to having Covid earlier this year. I'm paying for private antibody tests on a monthly basis.

I really don't want this to turn into one of those anti-vaxxer threads .... I am not selfish, but I cannot have any of the vaccines as the risk to me is far far greater than catching Covid (from which I recovered just fine). I just want to know if there is actually a plan in place for those who cannot have the vaccine or whether they have been totally overlooked?

I would ask my MP but as he's Tobias Ellwood I doubt he gives a shit.

OP posts:
riveted1 · 31/07/2021 22:23

Thanks for linking @Canigooutyet. Seems very at odds with what has been reported by government and the media in the past month or so, given that they're terming it a "COVID-status passport" (instead of a "vaccine passport"), discussing the inclusion of immunity status or a negative test as an alternative to vaccination.

And this seems fairly...definitive?!

4. Having considered a wide range of evidence as part of the review, the Government has concluded that it will not mandate the use of COVID-status certification as a condition of entry for visitors to any setting at the present time.

Canigooutyet · 31/07/2021 22:31

Doesn't it just. Had to double check the date to ensure it wasn't last July. Also mentions something about places been able to decide for themselves which is now making sense that some clubs are saying no passport in the news.

Going back to uni students wonder if their bars and clubs will also be the same as the lecture rooms.

riveted1 · 31/07/2021 23:17

@Canigooutyet

Doesn't it just. Had to double check the date to ensure it wasn't last July. Also mentions something about places been able to decide for themselves which is now making sense that some clubs are saying no passport in the news.

Going back to uni students wonder if their bars and clubs will also be the same as the lecture rooms.

Same, I double and then tripled checked the date

Absolutely baffling, interesting to see how quickly this is picked up by the media.

Given how much of a U-turn on policy it is, I feel we should get another 5pm announcement from our PM but can't say I'll be holding my breath Grin

Canigooutyet · 31/07/2021 23:27

Xeno you could say the risks outweigh the benefits to you. The same reason why it's not been rolled out to all under 16's. To disregard this you could then suggest it's age discrimination. I would talk to your mh team more about this as they will have a better understanding on how the needle phobia impacts you and the potential harm you could cause others.

MercyBooth · 01/08/2021 00:37

@MRex I was more worried about having the AZ pushed at me.

And i will also be honest, nightclubs now..............hairdressers next.

MercyBooth · 01/08/2021 00:41

But i wont be showing any passport out of principle. My stance hasnt changed.

WanderingFruitWonderer · 01/08/2021 06:22

Thanks for all that @Canigooutyet. Especially the vegan exemption. I'm an ethical vegan and animal rights activist. It's the main reason I don't want the vaccine. There are a number of other reasons too. Also, I just don't 'do' big pharma. I haven't taken any pharmaceuticals for years.
Anyway, sorry, went slightly off topic...
The other link you provided is fascinating too, in light of recent media reports. As you say, totally baffling...

Darbs76 · 01/08/2021 07:48

@PinkDaffodil2

Hep B vaccination is a requirement for medical school, and each stage of employment your vaccine / immunity history is checked. Only about 1 in a million are allergic to HepB vaccine so I don’t think there’s much precedent for doctors not having it. If you don’t have a measurable antibody course they repeat the course of vaccination and monitor closely, plus repeat again if any exposure. I’ve not heard of anyone in the relevant jobs being deemed unable to have the vaccine so not sure how that would play out. Medical schools would take a dim view I imagine as it would be rubbish for everyone involved if you trained for 6 years then we’re unemployable.
My friend was that 1 in a million and had a terrible reaction to it. She needed to be tube fed for a while. She ended up giving up the nursing degree as having regular vaccines was part of the requirements
Horseyhorsey3 · 01/08/2021 08:49

@MaxNormal

Perhaps British people have not had to do this, but there are polio and meningitis vaccinations required for citizens of many developing countries, and TB tests required to enter the UK

I'm from a country with a very high rate of TB however I entered the UK without any requirement for checks. Many countries do lung screens rather than asking for vaccine proof (that was required when I got residency in a Middle Eastern country) for the simple reason that the BCG vaccine does not provide anything like sterilising immunity from contracting TB.

I do think some people are being very harsh here, by suggesting that the OP risk anaphalaxys and death, or basically shrugging and saying tough shit your choice. I can completely understand why OP turned up at the vaccination centre - there's this awful desperation at present between fear of catastrophic health consequences vs fear of catastrophic life consequences that makes those of us in that position feel utterly desperate.

It's not as simple as saying if your GP says you're officially exempt then fine otherwise it's just you making a choice and you need to suffer the conseqeunces. Medics aren't gods and people, especially with chronic health conditions, often know their own health and bodies best. Just think of how many threads there have been on here of people being completely dismissed and giving appalling medical treatment, for everything from thyroid issues, to childbirth injuries, to being sent home from A&E seriously unwell. You often have to advocate very hard for yourself and to get taken seriously.

And it's utterly mad that someone like the OP, who has had covid and has no reason to be seriously concerned about it, and who has previously had life-threatening adverse side effects from vaccinations, should even be considered as suitable to receive this vaccination. Because if it wasn't this highly politicised vaccine, no medic in their right minds would even suggest never mind attempt to insist on a medical intervention with that poor a risk benefit profile. It would be utterly poor practice, and unethical.

It is a truly horrible time for those of us in this position. I have genuinely sometimes thought oh well at least if I'm dead I won't have to worry about this any more.

Several of the people in my support group, who did chose to get the vaccine, have suffered relapses of their condition and I cannot go through that again. I just can't. And it is hurtful that there are a lot of people that, should my gp and consultant not agree with me (and there might well be tremendous managerial/political pressure not to grant exemptions), would be quite happy to see me, the OP and others like us live diminished, excluded lives on top of what we have already suffered.

I cannot face more months of neurological issues, pain, seizures, tendon breakages. My hasband cannot face more months of not being able to go to work and support us as he then has to care for me. I cannot lose the little life, as dimished as it is from the one I enjoyed previously, that I have worked so hard to build for myself after my old life was blown apart four years ago. Because when that happens, the gp is nowhere. Random people and their opinions online are nowhere.Most friends are nowhere. It's just DH and I in hell and alone.

I might never see my family again because of this. I never asked for any of this.

@MrsFelicianoLopez sorry about the derail. I think unfortunately unless people have lived it, they are generally not going to understand. It just feels so fucking unfair, we go through hell though no fault of our own and now this.

💐💐
herecomesthsun · 01/08/2021 09:23

@newnortherner111

OP, it would not surprise me if Tobias Ellwood is one of the Tory MPs who would oppose the idea of Covid passports (if I can use that phrase). So probably might be worth contacting.
I agree, it's worth dropping him a line.
ihatethefuckingmuffin · 01/08/2021 10:48

@WanderingFruitWonderer yea I remember from other threads, was thinking of you when I posted about ethical vegans. Have also seen you having a hard time due to your ethics.

Perhaps the uni uturn newspaper reports was a way of starting to leak this. The next official update will be interesting.

YarnOver · 01/08/2021 11:02

@Overthebow

If you have a medical reason so you’ve been advised against having the vaccine by your GP or consultant, then it’s likely that you’ll get an exemption for the vaccine passports.
Not correct

I have been told by every Dr who treats me that I should not have any of the vaccines. As well as severe allergies I have one of the blood clotting diseases which is on the contraindications for AZ.

No one wants to give me it.

BUT

Because I don't have an allergy to one of the two ingredients that is known to cause the anaphylaxis reaction, they can't exempt me.

So now I'm having to look into having it in the hospital, being admitted for I don't even know how long for monitoring, because unless you have one of two very specific reasons, you can't actually be exempted.

Even the specialist nurse from the allergy clinic in the hospital told me she didn't think I should have it but she couldn't actually exempt me.

It's really not as simple as 'you can just get an exemption"

I've had covid, I'm fine, it was less than a cold, I am CEV, I work a very high risk job... I don't want the vaccine as I've been told it is risking extremely serious reactions..... But then I also can't be exempted.....

People like me are just falling through the very wide cracks and it isn't fair.

WanderingFruitWonderer · 01/08/2021 11:18

Aww, thank you @ihatethefuckingmuffin Smile. Yes, it'll be interesting to see what official updates await...

Christmasfairy2020 · 01/08/2021 21:15

If you have anaphylaxis do you have an epi pen. Have it done in hospital where they have medication if need

PrincessKaguya · 01/08/2021 22:49

@Christmasfairy2020

If you have anaphylaxis do you have an epi pen. Have it done in hospital where they have medication if need
Are you for real? She doesn't want the vaccine, why should she put her body through tremendous amount of stress for no reason? Have you ever had an anaphylactic reaction? I don't think so, otherwise you wouldn't casually suggest something like that.
MaxNormal · 02/08/2021 10:45

PrincessKaguya particularly if yearly boosters become a requirement. Repeated exposure to the allergen to the point of anaphylaxis yearly - the poor person wouldn't last long!

canigooutyet · 02/08/2021 12:03

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1007737/Greenbook_chapter_14a_30July2021.pdf

This is the green book medical practitioners are supposed to use.
Anyone with an allergy should read this, the info is around page 21.

MaxNormal · 02/08/2021 12:20

canigooutyet thanks for posting that.
According to that, I'd be fine and dandy to have the vaccinations.
In reality, having watched several people with my condition react really badly, there's not a chance I'll risk it. But if the medical staff I deal with go by that book, then I'm just another anti-vaxxer.

Badbadbunny · 02/08/2021 12:24

Re work, the usual "reasonable adjustments" will apply as they do for any other disability. The employer needs to evaluate your position, your health conditions, etc., as they would do for everything else. Covid brings in new aspects to that. If "reasonable adjustments" can be made, then your employer would be expected to do that, i.e. changing workplace, changing duties, etc. If not, then you'll probably be made redundant on the grounds of disability.

Tryingtryingandtrying · 02/08/2021 13:23

Made redundant on the grounds of disability? Unable to do the job?

XenoBitch · 02/08/2021 15:06

@Christmasfairy2020

If you have anaphylaxis do you have an epi pen. Have it done in hospital where they have medication if need
Yeah, and tell people that have a severe peanut allergy to sit in A&E and have a pack of dry roasted... they can get given medicine, after all.
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