GPhC statement on compulsory COVID-19 vaccination for NHS staff
Yesterday, the Government announced that frontline NHS staff will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. This will apply across the CQC regulated health and care sector, and is expected to come into force from April 2022. This does not apply to people working in community pharmacies regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
In response to the Government’s announcement, the GPhC has issued the following statement to the pharmacy sector.
“We strongly urge pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to get COVID-19 and flu vaccinations at the earliest opportunity, unless they are medically exempt, and ask them to encourage other members of their team to get vaccinated as well. For healthcare workers, getting vaccinated protects the individual, their family, and colleagues, as well as patients and the public.
“We responded to the Government consultation on making COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment for frontline health and care workers in England who are providing face-to-face care across the CQC-regulated health sector. There was already an existing statutory requirement for those working or volunteering in care homes in England to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We noted in our response that the Government was not proposing to extend the legal mandate to people working in pharmacies regulated by the GPhC. Wherever pharmacy professionals are working we urge them to take up the vaccine.”
