A quarter of staff in England's older care homes are not fully vaccinated

One in four staff in older adult care homes in England have not had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, figures from NHS England reveal.

Less than three quarters (73.9 per cent) of eligible staff in older care homes have been fully vaccinated with two doses as of June 27, according to NHS England data published on 1 July.

Some 347,236 eligible staff have been fully vaccinated.

Staff in older care homes are 'eligible’ for the vaccine if they have not tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 28 days.

In total 85.6 per cent of eligible staff (402,231) have had one dose of a Covid jab.

From October, people working in care homes registered with the Care Quality Commission must have two doses of a Covid-19 jab, unless are medically exempt. If they refuse they will not be able to keep their jobs.

The new law, after parliamentary approval, comes with a 16-week grace period aimed at enabling staff not yet vaccinated to be so. Volunteers in care homes will also be required to get vaccinated.

However, 92 per cent of people who responded in carehome.co.uk’s online poll to date (2 July) have said they do not think Covid vaccination should be mandatory for care home staff.

92% of residents in older care homes fully vaccinated

NHS England data also highlighted that 92 per cent of residents (284,241 residents) in older adult care homes have been fully vaccinated.

When it comes to residents living in younger adult care homes, 86.6 per cent have had two doses.

Announcing a third dose of a Covid booster jab for care home staff and residents from September, the new Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said in his first week: “The phenomenal vaccine rollout has already saved tens of thousands of lives and prevented millions of infections, helping to wrestle back control of the pandemic and ease lockdown restrictions so we can return to normal as soon as possible.”

Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England's director of primary care said: “It has never been easier to get protected so whether it is your first or second dose – please book in as soon as you can. ”

Do you think the Covid vaccine should be mandatory for care home workers? If you haven’t already, have your say in carehome.co.uk’s online poll.