Government ministers are said to be meeting later today to decide whether or not to scrap mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for NHS staff in England.
According to reports, it’s thought that around 77,000 NHS staff in England are currently unvaccinated, but, as announced last November, all frontline workers must be fully-vaccinated by 1 April, meaning they need a first dose by Thursday, and if they are not jabbed by that date, they will be redeployed or dismissed.
Yet, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been under growing pressure to scrap the rule.
After there have been significant concerns that the sector could be left with a massive staffing crisis due to the number of workers refusing to be vaccinated, the Health Secretary said last week that the jabs requirement was being “kept under review”.
Although he said that he believes it’s the “professional duty” of NHS staff to get vaccinated, Mr Javid told the Health and Social Care Select Committee last Tuesday that, when the mandatory vaccination policy was announced, the dominant COVID variant was Delta, and it was right to “reflect” now Omicron was dominant.
It is understood that no final decisions have been made as of yet, but the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that Mr Javid will meet ministers on the COVID operations cabinet committee today, where he is expected to confirm the U-turn.
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🔴 U-turn on mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS and social care workershttps://t.co/Fuyu1NwY0M
The newspaper said the government is ending the policy because Omicron is milder than previous variants of the virus.
These recent reports that the government ministers are meeting today comes just a week after the Department Of Health And Social Care said there were no plans to change the policy as it was “the right thing to do to protect patients”, despite previous reports suggesting ministers were considering a delay in its implementation.
Government ministers will meet to decide whether to scrap mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for NHS staff in England / Credit: Flickr
The UK Health Security Agency says vaccines have proven to be effective against hospitalisation, mortality, infection and transmission.
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But both the Royal College of GPs and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had urged for the deadline of mandatory vaccination to be postponed and the British Medical Association called for an “urgent impact assessment” on how the policy would affect staffing numbers.
Patricia Marquis – Director of RCN in England – said: “If these reports are correct, this climbdown by government is long overdue.
“Vaccination is hugely important but this was the wrong policy, especially as it added to the current pressure on NHS and care services, and it was never in the interests of patient safety to threaten tens of thousands with dismissal in the middle of staffing crisis.
“We will continue to support government and employers to make the case for vaccination.”
Featured Image – Flickr
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Manchester set for its busiest weekend of the year with pop-up Park and Rides to open
Emily Sergeant
Pop-up Park and Ride facilities are set to open as Manchester prepares for what’s expected to be its busiest weekend of the year.
The festive season in the run up to Christmas always sees more people flock to the city centre than usual, but this weekend will likely be even busier than expected, as not only are Manchester Christmas Markets still in full swing, but there are also a number of gigs, live festive shows, and major sporting events coinciding with this.
So in a weekend that sees legends gigging and the Manchester Derby take place, as you would expect, thousands are predicted to flock to Manchester city centre and Etihad Campus.
Manchester Christmas Markets are in full swing and Paul McCartney will be at Co-op Live this weekend / Credit: The Manc Group | Wikimedia Commons
Because of this, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is taking action and encouraging people to dodge the likely congestion and use public transport instead where possible – with pop-up Park and Rides set to be introduced for weekend shoppers and fun-seekers who do want or need to drive.
On Saturday and Sunday, Booth Street West Car Park D (M15 6PD) – which will have 965 parking spaces available – will be free for customers travelling to the city centre by bus, and then again on Sunday, the same car park will be free for those attending Paul McCartney at Co-op Live.
Your ticket to the gig must be shown on entry, before a dedicated shuttle bus then takes you from the car park to the Etihad Campus.
Disney On Ice will be hosting four shows at AO Arena this weekend / Credit: Supplied
Shuttle buses – which are only available on the Sunday – will depart from Higher Cambridge Street and run to Co-op Live and back every 15 mins from 4pm until midnight.
Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground (Talbot Road, Stretford, M16 0PX) will also have 500 parking spaces available for Metrolink customers on Sunday, but you must show a valid pre-booked tram ticket to park there.
On Sunday [15 Dec], we’re offering free parking at Emirates Old Trafford to help relieve congestion in the city.
The Park and Ride is available to customers with a valid tram ticket purchased on the app, at a ticket machine or via contactless.
Anyone else planning to drive across the weekend may also want to consider using one of the permanent Park and Ride sites and complete their journey on foot or by public transport, and you can find more information and the locations of these sites on the Bee Network website here.
Tram capacity has been increased for the festive season, with every available tram running until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The V1 and 36 bus services now also run 24 hours a day.
Other late-running buses on the Bee Network from Manchester include the 43 service to Manchester Airport, the 86 to Sale, and the 142 to East Didsbury.
Body found in search for missing Stockport postman Steven Caulfield
Emily Sergeant
A body has been found in the search for a 70-year-old former postman from Stockport who went missing a couple of months ago.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) issued a public appeal after to help find Steven Caulfield, who was last seen in the vicinity of the golf course next to Middlewood Way, in the Marple area of Stockport, at around 4pm Tuesday 1 October, after he failed to return home from a walk.
Since Steven was reported missing, an extensive missing person investigation was launched by Stockport detectives, alongside a widespread search by specialist GMP officers, and a number of missing appeals were also published on social media and shared widely – not just in Greater Manchester, but all across the UK.
#UPDATE | At around 12pm today (Wednesday 11th December 2024), an officer sadly located a body in woodland near to Middlewood Way in Stockport.
At this time, we believe this is likely to be Steven Caulfield who went missing on Tuesday 1 October.
But sadly, at around 12pm yesterday (Wednesday 11 December 2024), a GMP officer has sadly located a body in a woodland area near to Middlewood Way in Stockport, and at this time, police believe this is likely to be the body of Steven Caulfield.
Steven’s next of kin have been made aware and are currently being supported by officers.
There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding Steven’s death, according to GMP.
Speaking on the discovery of the body, Chief Superintendent Lewis Hughes, Stockport District Commander and GMP lead for Disaster Victim Identification, said: “Our deepest condolences remain with Steven’s family and friends, who have been devastated by this traumatic news, we have officers supporting them through this difficult time.
“It has been a challenging couple of months since the missing report came to us in GMP and our Tactical Aid Unit, Specialist Search, Canine and Underwater Units were all utilised to search for Steven in challenging conditions and locations around the Middlewood Way.
“We hope today’s discovery provides some answers for Steven’s loved ones.”
The Manc -
31st January 2022 
