Gregory Campbell says COVID boosters should be done as 'voluntary roll-out'
Gregory Campbell has said the roll-out of COVID-19 booster vaccinations should be conducted on a 'voluntary' basis.
He said the authorities should be persuading people to become inoculated.
The British health secretary Sajid Javid said he agreed with the East Derry DUP MP when he raised it in the British House of Commons this week.
"Take-up of the booster jab in Northern Ireland has been somewhat behind, although it is now beginning to catch up. Does the Secretary of State agree that the roll-out is best done as a voluntary roll-out, so that we can persuade people that it is a good thing, and that it protects both them and their family and friends, to take up the booster jab?" asked Mr. Campbell.
Mr. Javid replied: "I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman. The general vaccination programme for covid-19, or any other vaccine for that matter, should be voluntary. It should be a positive decision that people take to protect themselves and those around them.
"The only exception to that in England, as the hon. Gentleman will know, is those who work with vulnerable people in the NHS or in social care. Otherwise, it absolutely should be a positive decision that people are encouraged to take."