UK mandates COVID-19 vaccination for frontline healthcare workers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] BBC reported on the 9th (local time) that England in the UK will soon announce the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for frontline medical staff.

Government sources told BBC that England's National Health Service (NHS) staff must complete their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by next spring. Currently, it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 NHS staff in England remain unvaccinated.

The first dose vaccination rate among NHS staff is 92%, and the second dose rate is 89%, which is higher than the general working-age population (81%). However, the flu vaccine is not mandatory, and exceptions are allowed for COVID-19 vaccination due to medical reasons.

Care home staff in England must receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the 11th to continue working. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last month that mandating vaccination for NHS staff is the right thing to do to protect both staff and patients, and the idea is gaining traction.

The General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMB), representing NHS staff, opposes legally enforcing medical procedures as a condition of employment. The UK's daily new COVID-19 cases exceeded 50,000 on the 21st of last month but have recently dropped to around 30,000. The previous day's death toll was 57, and hospitalizations stood at 1,054 as of the most recent data on the 2nd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.