Government set for U-turn over Covid-19 jabs for NHS staff as hundreds in Northamptonshire are still not vaccinated

Up to 1,300 Northamptonshire NHS workers were yet to get one Covid-19 vaccine dose just over a month before the deadline to get jabbed.

Reports say health secretary Sajid Javid is set to scrap the requirement for all NHS staff to be vaccinated amid fears of a mass exodus of healthcare workers.

New government rules mean that NHS staff must receive a first jab by Thursday (February 3) and be fully vaccinated by April 1 to continue working.

Latest official figures revealed 92 percent of the 8,411 healthcare workers at Northampton General Hospital had received at least one vaccination by the end of December — leaving 675 unvaccinated at that point.

At Kettering General Hospital, 94 percent of the 6,090 staff had received at least one jab meaning 375 were unvaccinated.

Among workers at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust — which provides community healthcare and mental health services across the county — 95 percent out of 5,726 staff had received at least one jab while 309 had not.

Despite widespread protests and calls to delay the policy, the Department for Health and Social Care had insisted there were no plans to extend the deadline and that ensuring staff are vaccinated was the 'right thing to do'.

But one senior government source told The Telegraph on Sunday (January 30): “Omicron has changed things. When we first introduced the policy, it was Delta that was the dominant variant.

“That was very high risk in terms of how severe it was.

"For Omicron, while it is more transmissible, all the studies have shown it is less severe. That has changed the conversation about whether mandatory jabs are still proportionate.”

According to the report, Mr Javid is due to meet fellow ministers to rubber stamp the decision on the about-turn.

The Royal College of GPs and the Royal College of Nurses have encouraged the take-up of vaccinations among NHS workers but are among those who expressed concern over the rapidly approaching deadline.

Mandatory jabs could have a significant impact on staff retention and put further pressure on the NHS while marginalising the vaccine hesitant, according to the RCN.

The NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system, said there were risks as well as benefits to a mandatory approach.

Chief executive Danny Mortimer said: "Most health leaders support the introduction of a mandate as it reflects the positive impact that vaccination will continue to have against coronavirus, but they would have preferred longer to implement the policy, particularly given the intensity of winter.

"While the majority of health and care workers have been vaccinated, even small reductions in staffing numbers can cause disruption.

"No leader wants to see this given the high standards of care they wish to maintain, the significant vacancies that exist across the NHS already, and the care backlogs that have built up during the pandemic."

Across England, 94 percent of healthcare workers had received at least one vaccination by December 31, meaning more than 85,000 were still unvaccinated at this point.

Nearly three-quarters of staff have received a booster jab nationally.

At NGH, 5,766 had received a booster dose by the end of December which is 69 percent. The figure was higher at at KGH with 4,447 or 73 percent having had boosters, while 76 percent of NHFT staff had been given a third dose.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Health and social care workers look after the most vulnerable people in society, who could face serious health consequences if exposed to the virus.

"Ensuring staff are vaccinated is the right thing to do to protect patients and those in care.

"The vast majority of NHS staff have had the vaccine which is our best defence against Covid-19.”

The data is limited to health care workers who appear in the NHS electronic staff record who could be matched to the National Immunisation Management System – meaning some bank staff could be included in the figures.