Some 98% of staff have had at least 2 doses of the vaccine, which was made a mandatory requirement by the Government from November for anyone entering residential care homes for work purposes. The small number of unvaccinated staff are exempt from having the vaccine for medical reasons, and so are able to continue working.
Councillor Linda Leach, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: "It was really important for care home workers to get their Covid-19 vaccination if they could, to help protect residents who are at higher risk from this deadly virus.
"And the response from care workers in Wolverhampton has been magnificent, with 98% of staff vaccinated. As a result any disruption that the requirement for staff to be vaccinated might have caused to care providers has been kept to a minimum.
"We know that the vaccine works – infection rates in Wolverhampton remain high but thankfully the number of people who are in hospital now is much lower than last winter, and that's primarily because so many people have been vaccinated.
"So, to protect themselves and the people they work with, I would encourage all health and social care staff, whether they are caring for people in their own homes, providing supported living or working for the NHS, to get their jabs – including their booster – if they haven't already."
First and second vaccinations, and booster jabs, are now available to everyone aged 16 and over, with a number of walk in vaccination clinics are operating in Wolverhampton. Opening times and ages vary from site to site – for details, please visit Find a walk-in coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site. To book an appointment in advance, please visit NHS or call 119.
