Excluding NHS staff from Covid vaccination ‘irresponsible and shortsighted’ doctors warn

Credit: Getty Images/Courtney Hale

By Emma Wilkinson

Doctors’ Association UK has said the decision to no longer offer Covid vaccines to healthcare workers is “irresponsible and extremely shortsighted”.

In a statement they said not vaccinating frontline NHS staff against Covid would lead to increased staff sickness and put healthcare workers at risk of acute and long Covid.

It comes as some NHS trusts have brought back mask mandates due to the spread of winter viruses.

“Healthcare workers are offered flu vaccines every year because we are at high risk of exposure to flu and to spreading it, so why are we now excluded from Covid vaccination, other than to save money in the very short term,” the DAUK GP committee said.

In a newsletter discussion the issue Dr Ellen Welch, a GP and DAUK co-chair said since September she’d had back-to-back respiratory illnesses.

“Even if most NHS staff have some immunity from past infection or vaccination this doesn’t equate to zero illness. Seasonal respiratory viruses can still knock people out of work.”