Coronavirus
Great Britain: But no vaccinations for nurses?
Boris Johnson during a visit to a Northumberland hospital. Photo: Peter Summers/POOL GETTY/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is apparently planning another turnaround: under pressure from his party, the vaccination requirement for medical staff is apparently to be withdrawn.
According to a newspaper report, under pressure from his party, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to cancel the corona vaccination requirement for medical staff.
Health Minister Sajid Javid wants to agree the step with cabinet colleagues on Monday, the Daily Telegraph reported. According to the plans, nurses should have two vaccinations from April 1st. With the about-face, Johnson, who is also under pressure within the party because of the “Partygate” affair, is fulfilling one of the core demands of influential backbenchers.
As the Telegraph wrote, Health Minister Javid claims that the effects of the omicron variant are much milder than feared. Mandatory vaccinations for NHS health workers were decided when the Delta variant was dominant. This led to significantly more hospital admissions. Critics fear that the already overburdened health system will lose 80,000 employees in one fell swoop if vaccinations become mandatory. The nurses’ association Royal College of Nursing welcomed the turnaround.
The influential Tory MP Mark Harper spoke of a “great victory”. “My backbench colleagues and I have made strong calls to save tens of thousands of NHS and care workers from being fired,” Harper tweeted.
Backbenchers are members of parliament without government responsibility in Great Britain, i.e. the majority of parliamentarians. They are a huge power factor in Johnson’s Conservative Party. Johnson is threatened with an internal party vote of no confidence over the affair surrounding lockdown parties in Downing Street. Now Johnson’s chances of avoiding such a vote should increase significantly.