SOUTH West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt has criticised the government’s “U-turn” after health secretary Said Javid scrapped mandatory Covid jabs for healthcare workers.

On Monday, Mr Javid announced to the Houses of Commons plans to ditch the legal requirement for NHS staff and social workers in England to be vaccinated against the virus.

The deadline of April 1 has now been removed.

Mr Javid justified this change with data showing that the risk to patients who catch the new Omicron variant being hospitalised has halved, compared to those patients who catch Delta.

The health secretary argued it was “no longer proportionate to require vaccination as a condition of employment” in light of these findings.

But responding, Mr Hunt, the longest-serving health secretary of all time between 2012 and 2018, and now chair of the government’s health and social care select committee, criticised the decision in the Commons.

He said: “My right honourable friend knows that my instinct is to support him in the very difficult decisions he has to take in a pandemic, and I think he is doing an excellent job, but I have some concerns about today’s announcement.

“Frontline workers have done an extraordinary job in this pandemic, but I have yet to meet a single one who believes that anyone in contact with patients has a right to put them at increased risk by not having a vaccine, unless there is a medical exemption.

“My concern is that having marched the NHS to the top of the hill and having won a very important patient safety argument, we are now doing a U-turn.

“What will happen the next time the Secretary of State wants to introduce an important vaccine, for example for flu, and make it mandatory?

“Is not the real reason that we have made this decision that we have a staffing crisis that the government have still not brought forward their plans to address? When will those plans be brought forward?”

Responding, Mr Javid said: “My right honourable friend speaks with great experience, and I have the utmost respect for him, especially given the many years he spent successfully running this department.

“I understand what he says, and I hope he will understand, having listened carefully to the statement, that when the facts change, it is right for the government to review the policy and determine whether it is still proportionate.

“Many things have changed in the past couple of months with respect to Covid, but the one big thing that has changed is that since this policy was originally implemented, we have moved from 99 per cent of Covid infections being Delta to 99 per cent being Omicron.

“That is why we have had to change approach.”

Surrey and Hampshire are currently exceeding the national average for coronavirus cases.

Government data shows that for the UK there were 940 cases per 100,000 population over the latest seven day period (January 18 to 25).

By contrast, Surrey experienced 1,184.6 cases per 100,000 over the same period.

While Hampshire experienced 1,130.5 cases per 100,000 which, although above the national average was in-line with the average figures for the South East.  

The worst-affected areas in the Herald area, showing their rolling seven-day infection rate up to January 26, and ranked according to cases per 100,000 people, are:

  1. Farnham Wrecclesham (137 new cases/2,135.0 cases per 100,000/up 95.7 per cent on a week earlier)
  2. Bordon Camp (127/2,129.8/+76.4%)
  3. Farnham Shortheath (135/1,903.8/+43.6%)
  4. Farnham Weybourne and Badshot Lea (113/1,896.6/+31.4%)
  5. Farnham Moor Park and Bourne (119/1,891.0/+67.6%)
  6. Farnham Upper Hale (130/1,870.0/+71.1%)
  7. Liphook (157/1,660.1/+0.6%)
  8. Farnham Town (136/1,621.8/+38.8%)
  9. Liss and Hawkley (125/1,604.4/+62.3%)

Cases in Surrey and Hampshire are on an upward trajectory, with a 19 per cent and 21.8 per cent increase in cases in Hampshire and Surrey respectively, over the seven days up to January 25.

However, hospitalisations remain low, with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust admitting on average seven patients and Royal Surrey County Hospital admitting on average two patients every day between January 12 and 20. 

The highest circulation of coronavirus in the South East is among children aged five to nine, with the rate of cases at 2,986.9 per 100,000 over the latest seven day period.

The age group experiencing the lowest circulation of the virus is those aged between 80 and 4, with the case rate more than 10 times lower, at 250 cases per 100,000. 

Since December 9, 2021, the NHS has produced weekly updates on staff absences through sickness or self-isolation.

From a peak in early January, there has been a decrease in the number of staff absences in the local hospitals:

  • Frimley Health: Absences peaked at 665 on January , but had reduced to 418 as of January 23.
  • Hampshire Hospitals: Absences peaked at 604 on January 5 , but had dropped to 527 as of January 23 .
  • Royal Surrey County Hospital: Absences peaked at 350 on January 5 but had reduced to 249 by January 23 .