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NHS staff in England will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 2022, health secretary Sajid Javid has announced. All full-time NHS staff in patient-facing roles will be expected to have received their coronavirus jabs as a condition of employment, unless they have a medical exemption, by 1 April 2022 – subject to parliamentary approval. Javid said that he recognised the pressures this would put on the already stretched health workforce, acknowledging that it would likely mean that some staff would leave the health service. He said that delaying its implementation until next year would "allow remaining colleagues [who haven't been vaccinated] to make a positive choice" to protect patients. Javid called on employers to "support and encourage" employees to get vaccinated. "No one in the NHS should be scapegoated, singled out or shamed [for not getting a vaccine so far]," he added. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that the vast majority of frontline health workers had already been vaccinated, but said the spring deadline would give organisations time to ensure thier workforce is compliant. He said: “Mandating Covid-19 vaccinations in the NHS offers a further incentive for staff who are eligible but have not come forward yet to get jabbed at time when the virus continues to be a threat and the NHS is working hard to deliver its broader services for patients. “For this reason, we are relieved the government has listened to our plea to roll out the requirement away from what is expected to be the most challenging winter on record. This will also give leaders much needed time to continue to engage and support the remaining staff who have not yet been vaccinated and to understand the possible consequences at a local
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