Commenting on the publication today (Thursday) of the Covid Inquiry report into the UK’s vaccine rollout, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said:
“Compulsory Covid jabs for care staff were never the right way to address concerns about vaccinations.
“As the report says, making them compulsory didn’t command the support of the profession and likely contributed to vaccine hesitancy in some groups.
“Instead, ministers should have run targeted campaigns to reassure staff the vaccine was safe, amid the deluge of anti-vax nonsense.
“Forcing care workers to take the vaccine, under threat of the sack, was the wrong approach. Rather than boosting take-up, this risked care workers being fired or quitting. That was only ever going to worsen the staffing crisis and divert desperately needed resources.
“Even at the time, research showed reassurance about the vaccine, particularly from peers in the care sector, was the most effective course for a quick roll out.
“Forcing staff to be jabbed felt like something from a bygone era or authoritarian regime. The eventual abandonment of mandatory injections suggests even Conservative ministers belatedly recognised the approach wasn’t working.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Dan Ashley M: 07508 080349 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
The post Mandatory jabs were never the right solution to vaccine rollout problems, says UNISON appeared first on UNISON National.
Comments are closed.