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Care worker in tears after being sacked for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine
‘I just can’t believe what the bloody government is doing to us’
A former care worker broke down in floods of tears after she was dismissed from her job for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.
Laura Akester, from Hull, had worked in the care sector for fourteen years, but had her contract terminated after she refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19 amid fears of long-term side effects.
After being let go from her job, Laura, thirty-six, posted a video onto TikTok where she said tearfully: “That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, saying goodbye to everybody, all the people that I’ve cared for, for so long, the people I’ve worked with.
“It’s been so emotional, this is so unfair.”
She continued: “I just can’t believe what the bloody government is doing to us, I just don’t get it, I don’t understand. I’m literally heartbroken and the residents in there are crying their eyes out… I can’t do it. This is awful.”
Although Laura had refused to get the jab, she had been tested three times a week for covid as part of her job’s requirements, worn PPE and followed ‘all guidelines relating to infection control.’
As of this week, it became mandatory for all care home staff across England to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with all frontline NHS staff being given until April 2022 to get their jabs.
The new rule came amid fears the new mandate will worsen the understaffing situation across the NHS’s workforce.
Chris Hopson, the Chief Executive of NHS Providers pointed out that between 80,000 and 100,000 NHS workers in England are currently unvaccinated, and said that while a small majority of hospital bosses back jabs becoming compulsory, more than 90% of them fear it could worsen the understaffing that is already endemic across the service.
He said: “The potential loss of those staff who don’t take the vaccine when the service is already under huge pressure and carrying 93,000 vacancies.
“The government must recognise the risk of losing unvaccinated frontline staff and support efforts to maximise voluntary take-up first.”