Get covid vaxxed or get out.....

So rumour has it DCOM Ops has written to all non-vaxed service personnel stating that continued refusal to vaccinate against covid "could affect your employability"...

All the recipients are having to sign to acknowledge receiving the letter.

I wonder if they have the stones to boot someone out over this....?

 

[Rugby-Jock-Lad]

Well they want any excuse to whittle down the numbers and contract it all out!! This will be another small dig at the selfless serving!! Done the 22?! Then get out.

 

[busby1971]

Medical staff and carers (potentially) have an occupational need to be vaccinated, not sure how that crosses over to an aircraft technician.

 

[Oldstacker]

It may simply be a reflection that are some areas of the world that are less safe from a COVID perspective than others - hence it may be unsafe for unvaccinated personnel to deploy to those areas. In the past other jabs were mandatory (Yellow Fever, iirc) and Malaria tablets were mandatory for protection, why not COVID jabs? If someone isn't willing to accept medically recommended treatments then they are potentially self-limiting their ability to deploy and, hence, their employability.

 

[muttywhitedog]

After 20+ years of staying up to date with my "mandatory" jabs, I was pretty miffed when there was a shortage of typhoid vaccines as I was due to deploy. The med centre were going to sign me as fit to deploy without it. I went to the local boots and paid £20 to have it, then submitted a claim via JPA and when OC PSF tried to berate me for making a claim, I rather bluntly told her that she should consider £20 well spent as it meant that I wouldnt be writing to my MP about putting my health in danger and all the shit that would come tumbling downhill. She quickly approved it.

 

[Talk Wrench]

It may simply be a reflection that are some areas of the world that are less safe from a COVID perspective than others - hence it may be unsafe for unvaccinated personnel to deploy to those areas. In the past other jabs were mandatory (Yellow Fever, iirc) and Malaria tablets were mandatory for protection, why not COVID jabs? If someone isn't willing to accept medically recommended treatments then they are potentially self-limiting their ability to deploy and, hence, their employability.

Anthrax jabs could be refused by an individual as long as a waiver was signed iirc

 

[4everAD]

Anthrax jabs could be refused by an individual as long as a waiver was signed iirc

I think the difference here is the receiving country never required you to have an Anthrax jab so you could refuse and there was no operational impact (how many service personnel caught Anthrax over the last 30 years?). Now with the direction of travel (excuse the pun) of countries around the world you might find a proportion of your personnel can't deploy without being double (or even triple) jabbed.

 

[busby1971]

Jabs were always voluntarily, although you might not have realised it, you’d still be deployed either way.

Enough people are now vaccinated or have recovered to keep levels low, deaths and hospitalisations are no longer significant and the NHS seems to be able to cope.

 

[Oldstacker]

Jabs were always voluntarily, although you might not have realised it, you’d still be deployed either way.

Enough people are now vaccinated or have recovered to keep levels low, deaths and hospitalisations are no longer significant and the NHS seems to be able to cope.

Levels of infection, hospitalisation and deaths may be low in this country but I don't think that is true everywhere. If you need to deploy a force to a high(er) risk area, what proportion of your deployed force are you prepared to risk becoming non-effective due to a preventable illness?

 

[Barch]

Anthrax jabs could be refused by an individual as long as a waiver was signed iirc

Is Anthrax contagious ?

 

[vim_fuego]

Is Anthrax contagious ?

No. Its not transmitted person to person. It comes from spores in the soil or, I think animal poo. My Father was a policeman in North Yorkshire in the late early 60's and he talks about people catching it when working in or visiting slaughter houses.

 

[Downsizer]

Anthrax jabs could be refused by an individual as long as a waiver was signed iirc

Correct, I signed a waiver in 2002.

 

[busby1971]

Levels of infection, hospitalisation and deaths may be low in this country but I don't think that is true everywhere. If you need to deploy a force to a high(er) risk area, what proportion of your deployed force are you prepared to risk becoming non-effective due to a preventable illness?

I was coming from an occupational risk point of view. Very little risk for the majority of young healthy individuals, also unlikely to be interacting closely with clinically vulnerable people. hard to justify taking someone’s livelihood away for.

 

[Downsizer]

Vaccination reduces the severity of illness I believe and reduces the likelihood of infection....if it was going to rip through a detachment I'd much rather have double jabbed pers than non jabbed from an operational PoV.

 

[Cat Techie]

Vaccination reduces the severity of illness I believe and reduces the likelihood of infection....if it was going to rip through a detachment I'd much rather have double jabbed pers than non jabbed from an operational PoV.

IS THE RIGHT ANSWER. I had a civvy contract offer that required I prove I had Hep A and B + yellow fever jabs in place. No confirmation, no job. I would agree with the requirement because I am intelligent. Did the same in the RAF. Most of the time. Did have Anthrax A. Not a dense shiney.

 

[muttywhitedog]

How about this approach:

Have the jab and get sick - continue to get paid.

Refuse the jab and get sick or have to isolate due to close contact - pay ceases as you have directly contributed to your absence.

 

[Downsizer]

Managerial nightmare. Have it or eff off.

 

[Fu Fu Valve]

I was due to go to MPA in 2011 and while they checked my inoculations were up to date I was offered an Anthrax jab.
I though that was strange as i'd never needed one on my previous stint in the deep south and i'd never heard of anyone needing it for MPA.

Knowing the nurse I jokingly said "whats up, you got a batch about to go out of date" and she said "basically, yes".
Needless t say I didn't have an Anthrax jab

 

[Tin basher]

...if it was going to rip through a detachment I'd much rather have double jabbed pers than non jabbed from an operational PoV.

Also if I was pulled forward to be detached 6 months earlier than planned to take the slot of some bod who had fallen foul of Covid due their non vaccinated status I might be a bit miffed.

 

[muttywhitedog]

I wish more organisations would take such a hard-line stance. My organisation is still allowing the unvaccinated to isolate for 10 days on full pay, whilst the vaccinated take a PCR test and come back to work once it comes back -ve, and get the pleasure of dealing with the work of their colleagues who sit at home watching Netflix. I raised this point on an all staff call the other day to question whether the drive to bring additional people into the office is led by a headline national figure of 79% double jabbed or a local figure (>75% of the workforce come from this area) where the rate is a paltry 38%.

My suggestion, which received numerous likes, was to start treating covid like any other illness in regard attendance management and issue warnings when triggers are breached to those who have taken no steps to protect themselves. There are folk who have a pattern and at the moment there is nothing done:

Phone in on Monday with "symptoms", and book a PCR for Tuesday.
Phone in on Tuesday to say they dont feel well enough to go for test and have ordered home test kit.
Wednesday they take the test and post it off on Thursday.
Fri evening they get their negative result and go out.

Its bloody infuriating to myself as a white male to see this stunt pulled repeatedly by a section of our local "community" - the phrase "Cough and You're Off" is widely used.