THE extent of how many carers the county could lose due to them not getting a Covid vaccination in time can be further revealed.

The government required all care home staff to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus by November 11, meaning last Thursday, (September 16) was the last opportunity for a first dose in time to meet the deadline - unless medically exempt.

Previously we revealed Worcestershire County Council has 340 staff - around five per cent of the workforce - that did not receive the first dose of a vaccine before the deadline, which means they will not be able to receive the second in time.

However, a spokesman for the authority said the 340 figure does include medically exempt, but the authority is yet to provide this number.

Now latest figures from the NHS, up to September 12, show that 5,559 staff working in private older adult care homes in Worcestershire have reported to have been vaccinated with one dose, meaning the 367 staff left - 6.5 per cent of eligible staff - were yet to have one dose before last Thursday's deadline.

And 1,130 staff working in private young adult care homes in the county have reported to have been vaccinated with one dose, meaning the 100 staff left - 8.1 per cent of staff eligible to have a vaccine - had also potentially not had their one dose in time.

The exact figure of those that missed the deadline is set to be revealed later this week, when the NHS provide the latest vaccination data.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “The DHSC issued interim guidance on what might constitute a medical exemption from covid vaccination and how employees could request this on September 15.

"We are working with care homes to validate figures, including those who are considered medically exempt, but this will take several days to collate.

“The county council’s role is to support care homes and workers to understand the changes and provide information and guidance on how to access the vaccines.

"Care worker recruitment is a national issue and we will continue to promote this information to those employed in care roles in Worcestershire."

A spokesman for county patients watchdog Healthwatch said: "We recognise there could now be a shortage of care home staff.

"But we do understand this needs to be balanced with the need for people to be vaccinated.

"We are concerned about the impact (a shortage) could have on care homes.

"If and when this starts to take affect in care homes, if residents or their families could get in touch with us on healthwatchworcestershire.co.uk or call 01386 550264, that would be helpful."

With potentially hundreds of carers out of work in November, a Worcestershire care company has already acted.

Care Four, based in Moor Street, which provides home care support for people to be able to live independently in their homes, says it is looking to recruit those who lose their jobs and are then vaccinated.

Melissa Rodgers said: "We are holding a recruitment open day in Droitwich in October to help and support the local job market.

"We are pledging to recruit a large amount of new careers from the local community to help with job losses as well as to support the community."

According to Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) estimates, around 40,000 carers – seven per cent of the workforce – could be at risk of losing their jobs.

The Telegraph has also reported that two care workers are seeking a judicial review into the government policy. The claimants taking legal action have described the two jab rule as an “unlawful and unnecessary restriction”.