Yesterday the Government announced that NHS staff will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine by April 2022, this will keep vulnerable patients and staff safe.

90% of NHS staff have received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine – but because of the unique responsibility they have, we need more staff to get the jab and strengthen our defence against the virus. That is why, following extensive consultation with NHS leaders, we have announced that from April 2022 all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated – with exemptions for those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients, and those who are medically exempt.

This will help to avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS, and of course protect the NHS itself.

You can view the Health Secretary’s full statement to Parliament on Vaccines as a Condition of Deployment at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/health-secretary-statement-on-vaccines-as-a-condition-of-deployment.