What are your opinions about care home workers refusing to have the covid-19 vaccine?

Cher_Scope

In yesterday's Metro it was reported that almost half (40%) of care home workers might refuse to have the covid-19 vaccine when it's rolled out across the nation.  

Reasons for not wanting the jab were cited as fear and workers with pre-existing conditions being reluctant and wanting to wait a while before making the decision.

This scenario leaves care home managers with many problems, namely:

‘If someone next year catches Covid in my home and it comes from a staff member who’s not vaccinated, who bears liability there? Is it me or my employee? ‘Or the government for not making it mandatory? Can I stop them working? I can’t make it a condition of employment, they’re well within their rights to expect to get paid and come to work.’

While, if you had a relative who caught covid-19 while in a care home, how would you feel?  Would you be angry yet stand by their right to make independent choices?  Or, do you think it should be mandatory as someone who's job is to protect others?

I'd be interested to hear your opinions.  And as always, remember to keep it friendly and respectful of other members' thoughts

MrAllen1976

I think more testing needs to be done of the Covid-19 Vaccine to determine side effects etc then more people will be open to taking it.

woodbine

Care home workers if offered the vaccine should have it and if they don't then they should be suspended from work until they do.

janer1967

They should have the right to refuse like anyone else after all little is known yet about side effects and it is their body and their decision 

They should have weekly tests and follow all other guidelines 

The same question should be directed to care home residents if they refuse the vaccine does it mean they wont be allowed in the care home and visitors to the care home also 

OverlyAnxious

Sounds like scare mongering from the Metro tbh...  40% 'might' refuse it?  Who cares?  Wait and see who actually refuses when they're allowed it rather than worrying people now.  I'm really not a fan of the media. 

I don't believe that anyone should be forced to have it.  But in this case I think they should alter job roles so that they're not in close contact with the most vulnerable people if they do refuse.

woodbine

Wifes mother has been in a care home for 3 years now, the home has been in total lockdown since March and they haven't had a single case, sadly we haven't been able to see her at all and might not till March next year. So i'm afraid I stick by my opinion that care staff should me made to have the vaccine and the same goes for the residents, this virus is far too serious to mess around with rights not when refusing to have it would be wrong and senseless.

chiarieds

I think we should realise that even if the vaccine is 90% effective, that still means 1 in 10 people, even if vaccinated, could still contract Covid-19. Bearing that in mind I don't think anyone should be discriminated against for not having it. As mentioned above, the same guidelines need to be used as are already in place anyway. However, I do feel that @OverlyAnxious thought that non-vaccinated care home workers should not be in close contact with vulnerable residents sounds like a reasonable precaution.

MrAllen1976

The problem with care Homes in general is that they're run on a skeleton staff even before the Pandemic because nobody wants to work 60 hours a week for only slightly above min wage, which is what the care sector pays now.

woodbine

MrAllen1976 said:

The problem with care Homes in general is that they're run on a skeleton staff even before the Pandemic because nobody wants to work 60 hours a week for only slightly above min wage, which is what the care sector pays now.

There are rules about staffing levels, on my mother in laws dementia unit there are 13 residents 3 staff at night and 4 during the day, when my wife worked in an enhanced care home it was 1 for every 13 at night. There are also rules about working hours as in no one can be forced to work more than 48 hours per week. Yes many staff in the sector are paid NMW but 15 years ago before that my wife was on £3 an hour for nights so NMW has been a massive improvement.