the times | Wednesday January 19 2022 13News
during his lunch break. Millions of single-use surgical masks are being thrown away in Britain each week, it is estimatedBritish troops are being banned from
deploying on operations overseas and
in the UK if they have not been vacci-
nated, with the Royal Navy taking the
most stringent approach by threaten-
ing sailors with dismissal.
Although 95 per cent of the armed
forces received a first dose of the coro-
navirus vaccine, only 43 per cent have
received their third booster jab —
compared with 63 per cent of those eli-
gible across the UK.
Military personnel are being ruled
out of overseas missions if they have
not been fully vaccinated. For example,
a dozen service personnel who refused
to take up the vaccine were not allowed
to deploy on the maiden voyage of the
HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier
last year.
In a further toughening of the rules,
sailors have been sent letters warning
that they “may be subject to discharge”
if they continue to decline the jab.
It is understood that there are
concerns that sailors could exploit the
rules and choose not to be vaccinated
so they can stay at home in what is
being described as a “get out of deploy-
ment card”.
The letter stated: “If you are choosing
not to be vaccinated you are to discuss
vaccination with unit medical person-
nel and your chain of command.
“Information concerning the options
for vaccination against Covid-19 is
available [from the NHS].
“If after consideration you decided
not to accept the offer of Covid-19 vac-
cination the Royal Navy reserves the
right to review your employability and
you may be subject to administrative
discharge from the service.”
Soldiers have also been told that they
cannot go on deployments to countries
such as Mali and Kenya — or on opera-
tions assisting civilian authorities in theNews
as deadline for staff jabs nears
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JAMES GLOSSOPTroops told to get
booster or miss
overseas missions
UK — without being vaccinated, army
sources said.
One serving sergeant said that the
MoD rules on vaccines were “unclear”,
adding: “If you are not vaccinated it
isolates you to an extent. We have guys
deploying on MACA [military aid to ci-
vilian authorities] being told they have
to receive jabs.”
The sergeant said that the rules were
being driven by “personal preference”,
adding: “I would like to have been given
the choice.” He said that soldiers were
now being told they had to receive the
booster.
Robert Clark, a defence policy asso-
ciate at the Henry Jackson Society who
served in the army for 13 years, said that
the requirement for personnel to be
fully vaccinated in order to be deployed
set a “dangerous precedent based on an
individual’s personal liberty regarding
medical procedures”.
MoD sources said that the require-
ment to have a vaccination was applica-
ble to certain deployments but also to
other “critical roles” across defence. No
one has yet been discharged from the
military for refusing a jab, with MoD
sources saying the vaccine was “volun-
tary”.
As of January 7, 95 per cent of the UK
armed forces had received one Covid-
19 vaccine, 89 per cent were fully vacci-
nated and 43 per cent had received a
coronavirus booster jab.
More than 36 million people have
had booster, or third, doses across the
UK, more than 63 per cent of those
eligible.
An MoD spokesman said: “Service
personnel are strongly encouraged to
take up the Covid vaccine in line with
government guidelines. The vast
majority of personnel have already
been vaccinated, with 95 per cent of the
armed forces having received at least
one Covid vaccination and nearly 90
per cent being fully vaccinated.”Larisa Brown Defence Editor‘NHS listens
too much to
bureaucrats’
Kat Lay Health EditorThe banker who is the government’s
preferred candidate for chairman of
NHS England has told MPs the health
service “looks upwards too much” to
bureaucrats and regulators, rather than
focusing on patients.
Richard Meddings, 63, a former
chairman of TSB Bank group, was
speaking to the Commons health and
social care select committee during a
pre-appointment hearing yesterday.
He said the way bureaucracy func-
tioned in the NHS “needs to be thought
about”, raising concerns that bad tar-
gets could incentivise poor care.
The committee will gives its view on
Meddings to Sajid Javid, the health sec-
retary, who will make the final decision
on the job, which pays £63,000 a year
for two to three days a week.two Cathay Pacific crew who dined at
bars and restaurants across the city
before testing positive. The airline
said it had fired two crew members
for breaching coronavirus rules. They
were arrested and given bail.united states
Inmates at an Arkansas jail are taking
legal action, saying they were
unknowingly prescribed the horse
deworming drug Ivermectin to treat
Covid-19. They said they experienced
problems with their vision, as well as
diarrhoea and stomach cramps. The
doctor who gave the drug said no one
was forced to take it.sweden
Travellers to Sweden will no longer be
required to show a negative Covid-
test. The government said they were
“no longer considered to pose a
particular risk” of spreading Omicron
after the country recorded more than
20,000 new daily cases over the past
few days, about double the previous
record from earlier waves.Omicron came in the post from Canada, claims Beijing
china
Health officials advised against
receiving mail from abroad and
stepped up disinfection measures
after claiming the Omicron variant
was imported to Beijing via a letter
from Canada. Citizens were urged to
wear masks and gloves when opening
mail despite the Canadian postal
service and the World Health
Organisation saying the risks of
transmission through post were low.australia
Australia recorded its deadliest day of
the pandemic, with 77 deaths. Greg
Hunt, the health minister, said up to
57,000 nurses and more than 100,
staff would be made available to areas
that were under pressure.hong kong
About 2,000 small animals, including
hamsters, will be euthanised after
several tested positive at a pet store
where an employee was also infected
with the Delta variant. A local
Omicron outbreak has been traced toWorld update
Global cases
330,833,Global deaths
5,545,Countries reporting most deathsMost new casesUS
Brazil
India
Russia
Mexico
Peru
UK1 2 3 4 5 6 7
851,
621,
486,
315,
301,
203,
152,1 2 3 4 5 6 7
US
Spain
India
Argentina
UK
Australia
Italy773,
331,
238,
102,
94,
84,
83,Deaths per million populationRank Now Jan 31, 20211,1,1,
1,1,
7971,
1,836
9491,1,
1,6,
4,4,
4,3,
3,3,3,
3,3,
2,2,
2,Peru
BulgariaBosnia & Herz.Hungary
N. MacedoniaGeorgia
Czech RepCroatia
SlovakiaRomaniaBrazil
USUK1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910
111927( 16 )( 13 )( 7 )
( 14 )( 10 )
( 40 )( 5 )
( 17 )( 37 )( 31 )
( 24 )( 11 )
( 4 )
Data supplied by Johns Hopkins University. US data fluctuates because of irregular reporting by different states.
Figures as of 6pm yesterday. Sources: UK government, Our World in Data, selected countries