All Cornwall Council staff who work in a care setting will have to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 by November, however, the council is not making vaccinations mandatory for all employees.

With the vaccination programme continuing across the country there has been talk about whether organisations might insist on staff being vaccinated.

Cornwall Council said that it will only be insisting that staff who work in care settings are vaccinated, unless they are exempt, by November 11, in line with Government guidelines.

In a statement the council said:

"Any Cornwall Council Adult Social Care staff member who works in a care setting will need to be double vaccinated by November 11 in line with current government guidelines, unless they are exempt under the regulations. The organisation has processes in place to monitor vaccination uptake in staff where this is necessary.

"In addition the Corserv Group continues to regularly review and update its Covid-19 policy to follow government guidelines to keep local communities and colleagues safe."

The Government has decided that anyone working in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered home will have to be vaccinated, unless they are exempt.

Under the new legislation the requirement to have both vaccinations will also apply to those who go into care homes for work such as hairdressers and tradespeople.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said:

"Having a high level of protection in care homes will reduce the risk to this very vulnerable population.

"Evidence shows that two doses of the vaccine offers high levels of protection against hospitalisation from COVID-19. We also know that getting both doses of your jab reduces your risk of unknowingly passing the virus on to others."

However, some unions have warned that the need for mandatory vaccinations could cause problems for the workforce in the social care sector which is already struggling to recruit and retain staff.

And David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing board, added:

"This is a highly sensitive and complex issue, which reflects the wide range of views from across social care and it remains absolutely vital that we all continue current efforts to encourage voluntary take-up of the vaccine.

"Councils are already working very closely with local health and care partners to remove existing barriers to take-up, such as providing greater access and tailoring information to address specific concerns, which may well help reach necessary levels of vaccination on a voluntary basis.

"Any targeting of mandatory vaccination should be proportionate and appropriate to specific areas where take-up rates remain lower. It is only right that care workers are treated the same as their NHS counterparts and we are pleased that government has listened to our feedback about extending this to the health workforce, as any suggestion of being singled out could have adverse consequences for recruitment and retention of the care workforce."

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