Hancock Supports Mandatory Vaccines for NHS Staff, Tells COVID Inquiry
The former health secretary expressed regret that only care workers were mandated to receive the COVID-19 vaccines, emphasizing that this requirement should have been extended to all health care staff.
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated during the Covid-19 Inquiry that he believes vaccines should be mandatory for both NHS and social care workers if a pandemic is declared in the future.
Lead counsel to the inquiry, Jacqueline Carey, KC, questioned Hancock for several hours as part of Module 3, examining the impact of COVID-19 on the health care systems across the UK.
Despite concerns over vaccine adverse events, Hancock stressed the importance of ensuring that all health and social care workers are fully vaccinated.
While care workers had a vaccination mandate in place, NHS frontline staff did not face the same requirement due to anticipated vaccine refusal rates.
Hancock expressed regret over the decision to only mandate vaccines for social care workers, noting that it should have been applied to NHS workers as well.
