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From today every care home employee in England must be fully vaccinated to continue working in the sector.
The government has estimated the policy, and the wider move requiring all NHS workers to be jabbed, could see 123,000 lose their jobs.
On Tuesday health secretary Sajid Javid announced frontline NHS workers and social care staff in England have until April 1 to get a jab, unless they are exempt, meaning the unvaccinated will have to get their first doses within the next 12 weeks in order to meet the deadline.
But the care home policy was announced earlier and people will now no longer be able to work in that sector unless fully vaccinated.
A government impact report warns that any reduction in the workforce “may lead to reduced or delayed services”, with the NHS already facing a record backlog of care and is grappling with high vacancy rates.
Estimates included in the document suggest that around 54,000 unvaccinated staff will take up the offer of a jab as a result of the policy.
The issue has been hotly debated, with some claiming it is unethical to 'force' people to get the vaccine in order to continue their career while others claim it is a "professional responsibility" of those in health care to do all they can to keep their patients safe.
"Caring for vulnerable others is unlike any other job, and you need to put their safety first and your own personal rights last..."
KentOnline reader Heidi Garwood said: "But the jab doesn't stop you getting Covid and passing it to others!"
Retired nursing sister Jennifer Leith responded: "It reduces the risk of both and that is why it is important that all healthcare workers have it.
"As a retired nursing sister I had mandatory vaccinations to protect me and my patients and had them because it was a part of my professional accountability towards patient care. Caring for vulnerable others is unlike any other job, and you need to put their safety first and your own personal rights last."
Sarah Pearson said: "But they are not just healthcare workers they are human beings whom should have the right to choose what goes into there bodies. This is the point they work hours no one else wants to work they worked through the height of this outbreak and you would be happy for these guys to be sacked when if you got sick last year you would of been happy for them to treat you."
While the vaccines don't reduce the risk completely, multiple studies have shown they do have a meaningful impact on your chances of catching or passing on the virus.
Dwayne Dibbly said: "No one is forcing anyone. If you work for the NHS you should have the mindset of caring for and helping people. The vaccine will do this, so if you don't want to have something that will help your patients are you really in the right job?"
But David Robinson said: "Be interesting to see the NHS function once they sack 100,000 staff."
And Jessica Tolcher added: "This has got to be unlawful. Since when does the government think people will listen? I see a shortage of people working in the NHS very soon its already happening in care homes. Making a rod for your own back trying to force a jab on people. shameful."
In a commons statement, Mr Javid said there was no doubt that health and social care staff “carry a unique responsibility” in the work they do and “we must avoid preventable harm”.
He said only those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients or who are medically exempt will not be required to have two doses of a Covid jab, with enforcement of the rule from April 1 next year.
The policy applies to health and wider social care settings that are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
"No-one in the NHS or care that is currently unvaccinated should be scapegoated, singled out or shamed..."
The Department of Health and Social Care said the regulations cover health and social care workers who have direct, face-to-face contact with people while providing care, such as doctors, nurses, dentists and domiciliary care workers.
They will also apply to ancillary staff such as porters or receptionists who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in their care.
Mr Javid told MPs the decision to make Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for health staff does not mean the government does not recognise concerns about “workforce pressures” this winter.
He added: “Allow me to be clear that no-one in the NHS or care that is currently unvaccinated should be scapegoated, singled out or shamed.
“That would be totally unacceptable. This is about supporting them to make a positive choice to protect vulnerable people, to protect their colleagues. And of course to protect themselves.”
More than 100,000 people working in the NHS in England remain unvaccinated, he told MPs.
Mr Javid added: “The take-up throughout the NHS in England is 93% of the first dose, 90% of two doses, and that does leave – the latest number I have – 103,000 people in the NHS, that work for the NHS, that are unvaccinated, so not even one jab.
“It’s hard to know what portion of that number will take up the offer of vaccination.
“If we look at what has happened with social care – care homes – since that policy was announced, there was a significant fall in the equivalent number and I think we can certainly expect that here.”
According to the Department of Health, 105,000 domiciliary care workers have not been reported as fully vaccinated.
Overall, some 92.8% of NHS workers have had their first dose and 89.9% have had both doses, while, in social care, 83.7% of domiciliary care workers have had their first dose and 74.6% have had both doses.
“The weight of the data shows our vaccinations have kept people safe and they have saved lives..."
Mr Javid said the decision to make jabs mandatory for care home staff meant that the number of people working in care homes who have not had at least one dose had fallen from 88,000 to 32,000 at the start of last month.
Of the consultation regarding making vaccines mandatory for NHS staff, he added: “I’ve carefully considered the responses and the evidence and I’ve concluded that the scales clearly tip to one side.
“The weight of the data shows our vaccinations have kept people safe and they have saved lives.”
He added that flu jabs will not be compulsory, although the issue is being kept under review.
The government impact report also estimates that the “cost of replacing unvaccinated workers is £270 million”.
“Working with NHS organisations, we will continue to support staff who have not yet received the vaccination to take up the evergreen offer..."
Royal College of Nursing chief executive Pat Cullen said: “The vast majority of NHS nursing staff received the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it was offered, having led the vaccination rollout across the UK and continuing to do so with the booster programme.
“With the five months until this decision takes effect, the government and employers must continue to engage with the small minority who have chosen not to have the vaccine.”
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “The NHS has always been clear that staff should get the life-saving Covid vaccination to protect themselves, their loved ones and their patients, and the overwhelming majority have already done so.
“Working with NHS organisations, we will continue to support staff who have not yet received the vaccination to take up the evergreen offer.”
Unvaccinated frontline health and social care staff will need to have their first vaccine within the next 12 weeks in order to get their second jab before the April 1 deadline.
On Tuesday officials in Northern Ireland announced that plans for a public consultation on mandatory Covid-19 and flu vaccination for new recruits to the health and social care workforce in the country.
But the Welsh and Scottish governments are not planning to introduce mandated vaccines for health and social care staff.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: “In Wales 95% of our healthcare workers have taken the opportunity to have both doses of the vaccine and we think that those levels are very high.
“We are content with those levels.
“We are still in the business of trying to persuade those final 5%, but there will be among them some people who have medical reasons why they can’t have those two doses.”
A Scottish government spokesman said: “There are currently no plans to introduce mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for NHS and care staff in Scotland.
“Uptake rates are incredibly high amongst NHS and care staff in Scotland and we are deeply grateful for their efforts during the pandemic.”
