Why should I be sacked for refusing the Covid vaccine?

A few months ago, Sajid Javid was asked how he could justify sacking unvaccinated care home workers if they had been infected with Covid and had natural immunity. The Health Secretary replied as if such people were plainly idiots. ‘If they haven’t taken a vaccine — despite all the effort that’s been made to persuade them, encourage them, provide them with information, introduce them to trusted voices — then at some point you have to move on.’ By ‘move on’ he meant thousands of them should be fired.

NHS staff are next in line: we have until 1 April to get jabbed or get out. On a recent visit to King’s College Hospital, Javid asked some of us what we thought of this. I’m an intensive care doctor and have seen all too much of Covid but I disagree with his vaccine mandate — and told him why. I’ve had the virus, I have antibodies and I am not significantly more likely to spread Covid than someone who has been vaccinated. The Omicron variant, I said, offers a chance to rethink the government’s policy.

Our exchange was caught on camera. The clip went viral and seems to have hit a nerve with the public. But why, you might wonder, would a doctor working on a Covid-19 intensive care ward not want to have the jab? Doesn’t he understand the science?

I do follow the science, and I can find no clear evidence to support compulsory vaccination. The situation is complicated. For some people, the decision to take the jab is an easy and obvious one; for others, they prefer to weigh up the risks vs the benefits.

My principal objection is to a ‘mandate’ where my colleagues and I are forced to decide between retaining bodily autonomy or retaining our jobs.