Government urged to ditch mandatory vaccine for home care workers over 'highly questionable' scientific evidence

The government has been criticised as “particularly reckless” for continuing with the policy of a mandatory vaccine for the home care workforce, with home care chiefs saying the science justifying the regulations is “highly questionable”.

The deadline for uptake of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is 3 February, in order for home care workers to be fully vaccinated and comply with government regulations by 1 April.

Home care providers are already struggling with workforce shortages and they fear thousands will leave the sector rather than have the vaccine.

Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, said: “All along, we have strongly supported vaccination against COVID-19, as there is clear evidence it helps to save lives.

"At the same time, we have consistently argued that persuasion would likely be more successful than compulsion in achieving high vaccine uptake, especially among those with genuine fears. And we have repeatedly stressed the need to balance the mitigated risk of infection with the risk of older and disabled people going without vital care at home.”

In the wake of reports, that the government is having a rethink on plans to make the vaccine mandatory for all NHS frontline staff by 1 April, the Homecare Association is now calling for a similar rethink for home care staff.

Scientific basis for justifying regulations 'highly questionable'

It claims the government is being ‘particularly reckless when there is no evidence of high death rates from COVID-19 in people’s own homes, including among those receiving homecare, and the scientific basis for justifying the regulations is highly questionable’.

Dr Townson added: “In pressing ahead with regulations requiring vaccination as a condition of deployment in CQC-regulated wider care settings, including homecare, we believe the government has seriously misjudged this balance of risk.”

It is thought that around a fifth of the home care workforce, which equates to 75,000-100,000 people, could quit rather than be forced to have the vaccine. Dr Townson said: “When there is already severely inadequate homecare capacity to meet demand. We fear for the safety and well-being of older and disabled people when they are unable to access vital support from care workers to enable them to live well at home.

“Who will care for them? Neither central nor local government have responded to our repeated questions about their contingency plans. The government’s course of action seems particularly reckless when there is no evidence of high death rates from COVID-19 in people’s own homes, including among those receiving homecare, and the scientific basis for justifying the regulations is highly questionable.”

Recent research by the National Care Forum revealed that 66 per cent of home care providers are refusing new requests for home care, with 21 per cent of home care providers handing back existing care packages, due to workforce shortages.

The Homecare Association is concerned that mandating the vaccine will lead to even more shortages, with many NHS Trusts struggling to discharge patients from hospital as there is no care package available for them.

It also believes the government is being inconsistent by lifting restrictions in the wider community as it claims Covid risks have fallen, but still insisting care workers are vaccinated.

The Homecare Association points out that all older and disabled people have now been offered, and many have accepted, triple vaccination against COVID-19, which evidence clearly shows protects against serious illness and death.

It also says that the regulation are based on ‘questionable scientific evidence’ stating COVID-19 ‘vaccines do not prevent or reduce transmission to a biologically relevant degree with all variants; double-vaccination 12 months ago is unlikely to protect the recipients or anyone else due to waned immunity; and it is plainly nonsense to suggest that transmission of COVID-19 is dependent on employment status or role title’.

There 'cannot be one for the NHS and another for social care'

Jan Tregelles, chief executive of Revitalise, a charity supporting disabled people and carers with respite breaks, says that if the government does a U-turn on enforcing mandatory vaccination for NHS staff, “it is essential that they immediately instigate a major rethink for the social care mandate”. She added: “There cannot be one rule for the NHS and another for social care. Without the support of social care, the NHS can't function.”

To read the guidance on the mandatory vaccine for home care workers click here. Further guidance about temporary medical exemptions has not yet been published.