NHS staff in purple ribbon revolt grows over compulsory vaccinations: Twitter account posts photos of nurses wearing bows in defiance of the Health Secretary after doctors warned ‘no jab, no job’ rule will make health service shortages worse
- NHS medics have started wearing purple ribbons to oppose vaccine mandates
- Twitter account NHS100K posted pictures of health staff wearing purple bows
- From April, NHS medics will need to have at least two jabs to go to work
NHS medics have started wearing purple ribbons to signal their opposition to Sajid Javid’s order that all healthcare staff must have a Covid jab.
A Twitter account called NHS100k, which has 16,000 followers, has posted pictures of nurses, radiologists and vascular scientists all wearing purple bows in defiance of the Health Secretary in the past week.
The account says: ‘So many wonderful healthcare staff are showing solidarity and uniting together in support of stopping these mandates.’
It retweeted a picture of nurse Hannah Gardner, who said: ‘Good enough through the pandemic on the front line for two years, but soon to be sacked for not wanting the Covid jabs just yet. My body, my choice. Wearing my purple ribbon with pride.’
NHS medics have started wearing purple ribbons to signal their opposition to Sajid Javid’s order that all healthcare staff must have a Covid jab. Pictured: NHS staff in Sheffield on January 6
The account was co-founded by Jay Weston, 30, an emergency medical technician from Cheshire. He told The Mail on Sunday that he and group of paramedics chose purple as a neutral colour to ‘encourage discussion between staff who feel isolated for choosing not to receive a vaccine’.
From April, NHS medics will need to have had at least two Covid jabs to go to work if their role involves ‘direct contact with patients’, unless they have an exemption. The requirement will also apply to those working in general practice, private hospitals, community services, and any other health or care organisation regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
Latest figures show more than 91 per cent of NHS workers have been jabbed with two doses, but more than 90,000 staff are still unvaccinated.
On Friday, Dr Steve James, a consultant anaesthetist at King’s College Hospital in South London, confronted Mr Javid over compulsory jabs saying: ‘I do not want to have a vaccination.’
PROTEST:A picture, shared on Twitter, shows a healthcare worker wearing a purple ribbon
Yesterday, fellow NHS professionals distanced themselves from Dr James, who also runs a ‘Breathlessness Clinic’ on Harley Street where he charges £250 for a 30-minute consultation.
Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist, said: ‘If an individual like that worked for me they would be suspended pending an investigation. Obviously when you have over a million people working in the NHS you will invariably have some people who have crank views, but equally patients have to be able to trust their doctors to interpret data.
‘The data are overwhelming that vaccinations are safe and stop people ending up in ITU.’
Dr James could not be contacted for comment.
Another nurse is seen sporting a purple bow on her clothing
Harry Howard for MailOnline
A doctor has spoken to the Health Secretary about his refusal to be vaccinated despite working in intensive care since the start of the pandemic.
Steve James, a consultant anaesthetist at King’s College Hospital in London, who has worked in the ICU since early 2020 treating Covid patients, told Sajid Javid why he did not believe in vaccination.
In a video released by Sky News, the doctor told Mr Javid: ‘I had COVID at some point, I’ve got antibodies, and I’ve been working on COVID ICU since the beginning.
‘I have not had a vaccination, I do not want to have a vaccination. The vaccines are reducing transmission only for about eight weeks for Delta, with Omicron it’s probably less.
‘And for that, I would be dismissed if I don’t have a vaccine? The science isn’t strong enough.’
A doctor has spoken to the Health Secretary about his refusal to be vaccinated despite working in intensive care since the start of the pandemic. Steve James, a consultant anaesthetist at King’s College Hospital in London, who has worked in the ICU since early 2020 treating Covid patients, told Sajid Javid why he did not believe in vaccination
The Health Secretary politely expressed his disagreement and urged the public to get boosted during his visit.
He said: ‘I respect that, but there’s also many different views. I understand it, and obviously we have to weigh all that up for both health and social care, and there will always be a debate about it.’
But he took a parting swipe at the doctor, saying the government were taking advice ‘from people who are actually experts’.
Mr James said he did not believe Covid-19 was causing ‘very significant problems’ for young people, adding that his patients in the ICU had been ‘extremely overweight’ with multiple other co-morbidities.
He said the Health Secretary did not seem to agree with him but had listened to his opinion.
‘I wouldn’t say he agreed with me,’ he said. ‘I had the feeling he was listening.’
In December, MPs approved mandatory vaccinations for NHS and social care staff by April this year.
According to the latest data, more than 90 per cent of NHS staff have had at least two doses of a coronavirus vaccine and more than 60 per cent have had a booster jab or third dose.
During his visit, Mr Javid said he wanted to thank NHS workers across the country for ‘the amazing work they’ve been doing throughout this pandemic but particularly during these current challenging times’.
The Health Secretary politely expressed his disagreement and urged the public to get boosted during his visit. Above: Mr Javid with Dr James and another medic during his tour of Kings College Hospital
But Mr Javid also warned hospital admissions were rising and that the NHS was facing a ‘rocky few weeks ahead’.
He said: ‘We are in a stronger position than we were last year thanks to the vaccinations and the testing, we have boosted more people in this country than in any other country in Europe, we’ve got more antivirals per head than any other country in Europe, we’re testing more people per head than any other country in Europe.’
He added: ‘The best thing anyone can do if they haven’t already is get boosted or get your first or second jab if you haven’t had one.’
During the visit he said the intensive care unit for Covid patients had an estimated 70 per cent of patients unvaccinated and that this was a ‘reminder to us all’ of the importance of vaccination.
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