Mandating Covid-19 vaccinations in care home settings – England

Mandating Covid-19 vaccinations in care home settings – England

Following its consultation on whether to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for staff in care home settings, the government has concluded that, in England, it will require any professional visiting a care home to be vaccinated.

The Government has said this will apply to healthcare workers but will exclude those that have medical exemptions and those entering to assist with an emergency or carrying out urgent maintenance work; and those under the age of 18.

To mitigate the risk of staff shortages, the government said it had included a 16-week grace period, providing time for people to receive both vaccination doses.

The government has also said it will provide more support to key members of the workforce who might be “more vaccine-hesitant”, including women of childbearing age, people from BAME groups and those with concerns about the vaccine based on religion or belief.

To address concerns about inadvertent breaches of data protection law, the government said it has “inserted a provision in the regulations so that a service provider may process information provided by a person wanting to prove their vaccination status, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018”.