Compulsory Covid-19 vaccination for care workers

COVID 19 Vaccination as a condition of deployment operational guidance has now been published by the government.

You can read the full guidance here.

The guidance includes new information about medical exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations for as follows:-

General guidance on medical exemptions

For a small number of people vaccination is not appropriate due to clinical reasons. These people will be able to seek a clinically approved exemption from this requirement.

Groups that can get a medical exemption

There are a range of circumstances in which an exemption may be granted which will reflect the Green Book on Immunisation against infectious disease, chapter 14a and clinical advice from the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

There will be a clear process for staff to follow if they think they may have a clinical reason to be exempt. This process will be aligned with certification for domestic events, exemptions from self-isolation for confirmed contacts and travel. Guidance for certification is being developed and we will add a link to this guidance here as soon as it’s published.

We will be producing separate guidance for clinicians, which will align with guidance for vaccine certification in other public settings. This guidance will help clinicians to verify exemptions.