Vaccination as a condition of deployment in care homes

From Thursday 11 November 2021, anyone working in a Care Quality Commission registered care home in England, must have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine unless they have a medical exemption, in order to work within the Care Home.

A 16-week grace period has begun, and the Department for Health and Social Care said the policy will come into force on Thursday 11 November 2021. This means staff will need to have their first dose by Thursday 16 September to ensure they are fully vaccinated in time.

The government have produced operational guidance around this new legislation here (link opens in new window)

Any individual working or volunteering inside a CQC-regulated care home in England which provides nursing or personal care, subject to certain exemptions. This includes:

All workers employed directly by the care home or care home provider (on a full-time or part-time basis)

All workers employed by an agency and deployed by the care home

Volunteers deployed in the care home.

Anyone coming into a care home to do other work, for example healthcare workers, tradespeople, CQC inspectors, hairdressers and beauticians.

The requirement to demonstrate vaccination status will not apply to:

Anyone who provides evidence that showing they should not be vaccinated for clinical reasons
Family and friends visiting a care home resident
Any person providing emergency assistance
Any member of the emergency services in execution of their duties
Anyone undertaking urgent maintenance work
Any person for whom it is reasonable to provide comfort or support to a care home resident in relation to a bereavement.
Any person visiting a dying care home resident.
Any person under the age of 18.

Care home workers do an amazing job to support the people they care for and protect those most at risk from COVID-19.

Without high uptake among staff in care homes, there is a significant risk of the virus spreading further and causing harm to residents and those who cannot take the vaccine for medical reasons. Sustaining high levels of staff vaccination now, and in the future as people enter the workforce, is also important to minimise the risk of outbreaks.

Vaccines provide high levels of protection and impact on transmission of infection.

Any staff or visiting professionals entering a care home will need to provide evidence of their vaccination or exemption status.

They will be able to use the NHS App to prove their vaccination status. For those people who do not have access to a smart phone, they will be able to use other web-based and non-digital alternative in the form of an NHS COVID Pass letter sent to them in the post.

A COVID Pass letter can be requested online via Get your NHS COVID Pass letter - NHS (www.nhs.uk) or by calling 119.

The regulations will apply to all staff working in a CQC-regulated care home for people requiring nursing or personal care in England, including those who are pregnant, unless they have a medical reason not to be vaccinated.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that pregnant women should be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population, based on their age and clinical risk group.

Women who are planning pregnancy, are in the immediate postpartum, or are breastfeeding can be vaccinated with any Covid-19 vaccine, depending on their age and clinical risk group.

There have been no specific safety concerns identified with any brand of COVID-19 vaccines in relation to pregnancy. Real-world data from the United States show that around 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated, mainly with mRNA vaccines including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, without any safety concerns being raised.

All the vaccines are subject to rigorous testing before they can be given to the public. There is no evidence to suggest the vaccines can cause problems with fertility. The British Fertility Society (BFS) and Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS) say there is absolutely no evidence, and no theoretical reason, that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.

Any staff who have not yet received their vaccine can make an appointment at one of hundreds of vaccination centres across England, through the NHS National Booking Service online, or via their GP.

They can also visit their nearest ‘pop-up’ clinic to receive a vaccine without the need to book in advance. For the list of ‘pop-up’ clinics please go to here

To help promote take-up of the COVID-19 vaccines with your care home staff, you can download promotional materials here:

Adult Social Care 1

Adult Social Care 2

Adult Social Care 3

Adult Social Care 4

Adult Social Care 5

Hear from the people who know about the vaccine and why it is important.

Clinician - Dr Anna Folwell