The case for care workers having the Covid vaccine is surely inarguable by this point.
It’s not just their lives that depend on it. It’s the lives of the sick, elderly and vulnerable people in their care who are depending on them to do the right thing.
And yet moves by major providers to make vaccination a requirement of employment have run into opposition from union leaders.
They say the jab is not mandatory in Scotland, unlike in England, and dismissing staff who refuse to take it risks worsening recruitment problems in the sector.
Should the Covid vaccine be mandatory for care workers? Have your say and 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹 👇https://t.co/4Hv88s5coG
— The Courier (@thecourieruk) September 20, 2021
Individuals have a right to choose not to have the Covid vaccine.
But families have a right to expect that their loved ones are receiving care from people who have done everything in their power to minimise the risk of passing on a deadly virus.
These are the same families who endured months of misery as Covid-19 tore through care homes, resulting in thousands of deaths and lengthy lockdowns.
A public inquiry will determine what went wrong when the pandemic was at its peak.
But we know so much more about the virus now – and the safeguards.
And all of the scientific evidence points to the success of the Covid vaccine programme in reducing the risk of infection.
The problems with recruitment in the care sector pre-date Covid.
They include poor pay, unsociable hours and low regard for exceptional people doing a demanding and honourable job.
Unions might want to focus on fighting for just rewards for them, instead of making a case for the handful of Covid vaccine sceptics whose intransigence threatens the people in their care.
