Exemptions process for the vaccination
Update from Department of Health and Social Care
Exemptions process for the vaccination as a condition of deployment regulations
“Please find attached a letter from our Director, Claire Armstrong, on the exemptions process for the vaccination as a condition of deployment regulations. It outlines the non-exhaustive list of medical exemptions from the Covid-19 vaccine and the temporary self-certification system to declare them. This temporary system will expire 12 weeks after the NHS COVID Pass System is launched.
Also attached are the forms care workers can use to self-certify their exemption or self-certify that they have been vaccinated abroad.
As I’m sure you are aware, tomorrow is the last day for an unvaccinated person to receive their first dose, to allow the appropriate time between their first and second dose. Therefore, we are asking you to please cascade these documents to your members as a matter of urgency, so that they are received and understood by care home managers and staff as soon as possible. We sincerely apologise for the delay in sending this information.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.”
Letter from DHSC Director, Claire Armstrong on temporary exemptions process
clarity from National Care Forum
“Further to my email from earlier (attached), we have some more details for you after speaking to the Vaccines Team at DHSC. The relevant documents and self-certification letters are now on the government website.
First, we would direct you to an initial analysis of the implications of this change by DHSC by our partners Anthony Collins Solicitors: https://blog.anthonycollins.com/post/102h6h7/self-certification-of-medical-exemption-to-vaccination.
Second, DHSC have acknowledged this change is 'not ideal' but they appear to have run out of time to get the permanent system up and running in time before 16 September. We have a number of clarifications from DHSC:
Temporary self-certification arrangements will use the same exemption criteria as permanent arrangements - refer to Green Book and letter sent from DHSC this morning (in attached).
Care providers should accept self-certification and are not required to make any kind of clinical assessment (but using the existing criteria, so for example major allergic reaction is acceptable, concern that they might get a rash is not)
They hope to open up the formal, permanent system shortly. Those who are self-certificated will have 12 weeks from the date that the permanent arrangements are put in place in order to enable them to go through formal system, get a result and choose whether or not they want to get vaccinated + time to get both vaccines. So that is 12 weeks from new system going live, NOT 12 weeks from 11 November. If the permanent system goes live by end of September, then those who are self-certifying have until approximately the end of December to get vaccinated.
Workers who have self-certification will not be required to be redeployed by 11 November but they will need to complete the formal process when it goes live within 12 weeks.
The self-certification does not need to be clinically certified. It is highly likely that the permanent exemption certification will require clinical input.
Anyone who has been vaccinated overseas will need to seek exemption
We are also checking whether anyone who already has clinical evidence of a medical exemption may need to complete the self-certification forms.
We will circulate the updated operational guidance when it is published (hopefully later this week).”