Chris Talbot is in favour of compulsory vaccinations for frontline NHS staff, but Karen Jacob fears it could exacerbate a recruitment crisis. Plus letters from Brian Lawrence, Ben Ashford and Dr Simon Roberts
Frances Ryan is correct in focusing on the potential risks to vulnerable patients from unvaccinated NHS staff (Mandatory Covid jabs shouldn’t be controversial – NHS staff have a duty to do no harm, 10 November), but there is another, equally compelling argument why unvaccinated staff should not be employed by the NHS.
Vaccinations are a vital part of the NHS strategy to contain the spread of a debilitating, and sometimes deadly, virus. To refuse to be vaccinated (hiding behind the more reasonable sounding “exercising my freedom of choice”) is effectively joining the anti-vaxxers, who use the same arguments as those by the NHS vaccine refusers (along the lines of “it’s untested”, “my own immune system works perfectly well”, or “this is the state telling me what to do”).
