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.
ADVERTISEMENT
🔴 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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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
News
Michelin-recommended rooftop restaurant Climat has closed its doors with immediate effect
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s top-rated restaurants has announced its shock and immediate closure.
Climat, which is set way up high in Blackfriars House with staggering views of Manchester city centre, has said that the Michelin-recommended restaurant is now permanently closed.
In a heartbreaking statement, founder Christopher Laidler said that Climat is ‘yet another casualty of the times we’re living in’.
Laying out the brutal reality of running a hospitality business, Chris wrote about ‘rampant food inflation’, an ‘ever-increasing tax burden’, and ‘the persistent cost of living crisis’, describing it as a perfect storm against hospitality.
Then delving deeper into the numbers, he shared that Climat has faced an eye-watering £112,000 electricity bill for its first 13 months in business – that’s 400% more than they’d budgeted.
That was chased by a 33% increase in staff wages, then a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year.
Couple that with reduced footfall and it’s ‘spelling disaster for so many’.
Climat has closed its doors with immediate effectClimat has laid their finances bare in their closing statement
He wrote: “Whilst I wanted to highlight these reasons for closure, in the naive hope the Government will start to listen before it’s too late for others, I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of our team over the last 3.5 years.
“The closure does not do justice to their efforts and dedication. I’d also like extend a huge debt of gratitude to our guests for their support, enabling us to build a nationally recognised wine list – our raison d’être.”
Signing off, he said: “I wish everyone the very best of luck in these challenging times. Bye for now, Christopher.”
Climat opened in late 2022, with an impressive wine list and a beautiful restaurant space overlooking Manchester.
It didn’t take long before it was added to the Michelin Guide, which wrote: “An open kitchen is the focus of the room, with its aromas filling the air, and the concise fixed-price menu includes well-executed dishes such as halibut with spinach and sorrel velouté, where the ingredient quality shines through.
“Wine is a feature with one side of the room acting as a bar and the carefully curated list deftly mixing traditional and modern styles.”
Claire’s is closing down stores in the UK and Ireland with more than 1,300 jobs set to be lost
Danny Jones
In another hit to domestic shoppers, Claire’s Accessories is closing down en masse across the UK and Ireland after entering into administration once again.
Falling into an unfortunate financial status for the second time in less than a year, Claire’s will be shutting down all of their standalone stores across Britain, along with their IE branches.
A total of 154 stores will soon disappear, with more than a thousand people set to be put out of work.
Once a mainstay of British high streets up and down the country, the accessory shop known for all things jewellery, piercings and more has ceased trading effective immediately.
Announced at the start of the week and the end of the first full month of Q2, it was confirmed that Claire’s closed their final locations on Monday, 27 April.
With administrators, Kroll, appointed to wrap up business proceedings, an estimated 1,300 English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh workers have now lost their jobs.
Founded way back in 1961 over in the United States, Claire’s has operated across the Atlantic for more than three decades.
However, with various other contemporaries and cheaper online options having appeared over the years, they’ve struggled not just to remain profitable but to compete full stop.
They most recently filed for bankruptcy in the US this past August (2025), with their Belgian, Spanish, and Dutch divisions having already called it quits.
Manchester location(s) have changed a lot over time, but now they’re on the way out (Credit: Arndale)
For many, the outcome isn’t all that surprising, but it will nevertheless be a sad loss for many who have seen multiple generations visit these venues over the years.
The Manc -
31st January 2022 
