A CARE home worker believes she is exempt from the vaccine after she refused to receive it.
Holly Higgins, 28 years old, said that she “heart was ripped out”After being fired for refusing to get the jab, care home workers were required to double their vaccinations by November 11.
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After the announcement of the mandatory policy in the summer, the number of unvaccinated workers fell from 88,000 to 32,000.
Only medically exempt care home workers were allowed to be jabbed.
Holly is from Stockport in Greater Manchester. She suffers from anxiety and claims that she developed asthma and allergies during her time working in the pandemic.
She claimed that she had submitted medical exemption documentation, but it was rejected.
The mother-of-1 who is now unemployed told Manchester Evening News: “I’ve had my heart ripped out.
“I’ve had to leave the residents I’ve looked after for three and a half years. I feel so worthless.
“I feel like we weren’t valued at all throughout the pandemic.
“And now to be last year’s heroes and this year’s unemployed – it’s totally unfair.”
The effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the risk of Covid-related death or ill health and preventing the transmission of the virus is well established.
This is because millions of Brits have booked their booster coronavirus jabs to boost their immunity.
They told me if I didn’t have the vaccine, I would be dismissed
Holly Higgins
Holly claims she presented proof of her medical problems to Appleton Manor, Bredbury. Holly had been working there for four years.
She said that she was denied the jab after a meeting in August.
Holly said: “They told me if I didn’t have the vaccine, I would be dismissed. I suffer from anxiety so became distressed in the meeting and they didn’t care.
“They said to try and get something off the GP to prove I had asthma and other health issues.
‘STRESS’
“I proved that and they said it wasn’t a good enough reason.”
She is currently unemployed, but she says that she does not plan to return to work in a care home.
Holly said: “I see it as it doesn’t really matter about vaccination status as you can still catch it and transmit it regardless. I’m going to try and tribunal it.
“All of this is causing stress and anxiety to my life. I haven’t signed anything in my contract to say I’d have a vaccine.
I’ve refused the flu jab every time I’ve been there. I just don’t have any injections so I’m not going to make an exception for Covid
Holly Higgins
“I’ve refused the flu jab every time I’ve been there. I just don’t have any injections so I’m not going to make an exception for Covid.
“What’s the point when you can still catch it.”
The risk of infection is reduced by three doses, according to data from the UK Health and Security Agency regarding booster jabs.
Pfizer booster jabs provide more than 90% protection against symptoms of Covid in over-50s, according to the study.
Residents and their families need safe places to visit so they can enjoy each other’s company.
HC-One is the owner of Appleton Manor
People who have had two doses AstraZeneca two weeks ago are protected against transmission at 93.1 percent. Brits who received two Pfizer jabs were protected at 94%.
A spokesperson for HC-One, which runs Appleton Manor, said: “Our homes need to be safe and open to visiting so that residents and their families can come together as they wish.
“We can’t miss any opportunity to make this happen, which is why we announced in July that the Covid-19 vaccine would be a condition of employment for all HC-One employees across the nations.
“This was the responsible decision we made to protect our patients, and our colleagues. There is ample evidence that vaccination significantly reduces the likelihood of hospitalisation and cuts transmission.
“We expect to lose a small proportion of colleagues who have chosen to remain unvaccinated without qualifying medical exemptions.”