Almost 7,000 unvaccinated healthcare workers remain suspended, says minister

Almost 6,500 health care workers and 500 ambulance service members have been suspended from their jobs over their failure to meet a deadline to vaccinate themselves against Covid-19, the health minister said on Friday.

Thanos Plevris told MPs that of the 6,412 healthcare workers who are suspended for not getting vaccinated, 5,594 work in hospitals and 818 in primary health care.

Of the 500 suspended ambulance service staff, 400 belong to the crews.

The minister said that the fact that 400 health care workers received the vaccine on Monday, a few days before the deadline, showed that the government’s decision to make vaccinations compulsory for hospital workers was having an effect.

One hospital went from having a 35% vaccination rate among staff to 87%, he said.

He added that next week an amendment would be tabled to would allow health workers who have given the first dose of the vaccine to return to work.