The British government on Tuesday scrapped the mandatory vaccination of health professionals, justifying the rollback with a larger vaccinated population and a less severe form of the Covid-19 virus.
The measure, which initially applied to social care providers, was due to take effect in early April in England for doctors and nurses, and has been causing concern due to the resistance it has faced.
When the initial decision was made, “the delta shape prevailed,” Health Minister Sajid Javid said in a statement.
“It has since been replaced by the micron, which is less risky, with the proportion of people requiring intensive care or hospitalization in half compared to the delta formula,” he said.
According to the official, “With better immunization of the population and lower hospitalization rates, it was right to return to the study,” the decision, which was rejected by 90% of the 90,000 participants in a public consultation on this topic.
Many politicians, particularly from the Conservative Party, have expressed concern about the risk that many professionals would rather resign than vaccination, adding pressure on the public health services, where there are around 100,000 vacancies.
The minister, however, stressed the “professional responsibility” of vaccination professionals.
Starting March 15, workers in nursing homes and other institutions will also not be required to vaccinate, the statement said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the United Kingdom, a country of 67 million people, has recorded nearly 19 million cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 160,000 deaths.
About 52 million people (85.2%) received two doses of the vaccine and more than 38 million (6.5%) received a third booster dose.
England last week lifted most of the restrictions still in place in the country, including ending the mandatory isolation of positive cases, a highly controversial move in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s strategy to coexist with covid-19 as if it were a “flu” problem.
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