Should Covid-19 Vaccination be Compulsory for Social Workers in the UK?

This article discusses the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding compulsory Covid-19 vaccination for social workers in the UK. It explores the impact on society, the code of ethics, and the Deontogical and Utilitarianism theories. The article also covers the law regarding compulsory vaccination in the social work sector and the recent decision to revoke it.

Should covid 19 Vaccination be
compulsory within the social work
sector in the UK

Should covid 19 Vaccination be compulsory within the social work
sector in the UK
Moral dilemma refers to the situation where the option a person choose leads to a social
harm, while ethical dilemma refers to the situation where both the option are not ethically
appropriate (Rainer, Schneider, and Lorenz, 2018). Covid-19 vaccination should be compulsory
within the social work, as social worker are always in contact with the general public. As covid-19
vaccination work as a shield which prevent the covid-19 bacteria from spreading, Then this will
make sure that it is safe for the general public to come in contact with those who are working as the
social worker . Covid-19 vaccine boost the immunity power of a person which helps their body to
fight against coronavirus. Social worker are sort of those person who are influencing on the general
public, so if social worker wants to encourage the general public for taking vaccines they should be
vaccinated 1st then only they can advice the people. There is another perspective where it is also true
that covid-19 vaccination should not be compulsory, as every person have the right to do whatever
they want. If a social worker has a fear of injection then it is upto him that he want to take vaccine
or not. There are rumors of serious side effects of vaccine which may build a perception in the
social worker mind that he should not take the vaccine which is totally fine. It can also be a scenario
that a social worker is adviced by the doctor to not take vaccine because of some medical history, so
he will not want to go against the doctors advice. If it happens that the government will make it
compulsory then the social workers will be demotivated to work for the general public.
Deontogical theories states an action is treated as appropriate because of its own nature not
because of what results it provides (Reamer, 2019). Taking vaccination is an action which is
morally correct as it is benefit for both social worker and the person they meet. It is possible for
everyone to be vaccinated is by making it compulsory in every sector especially social worker
sector, by taking vaccine social worker body can protect itself from viruses and while they protect
themselves they also protect the people they meet (Okafor, 2021). Covid-19 vaccines also make
sure that the vaccinated people are safe from other viruses also, if social worker are having doubt
regarding vaccines it is stated that vaccines are certified so they are safe after they take the vaccine.
After social worker take vaccines they can even motivate other to take vaccine to prevent them from
the viruses, by this way they will fulfil their duties towards the society by keeping them safe. While
utilitarianism theory states that a person should do the action which provide him happiness, it will
support those social worker who doesn't want to take vaccines because of several reasons. Every
person have different perception towards vaccine so if any social worker is not comfortable with
taking vaccines, then they should not take vaccines which will ensure their happiness (Shekhar, and

et.al., 2021.). One of the reasons can be that some social worker are afraid of the side effects such as
fever, headache, hand pain and various others. There are various other reasons such as personal or
psychological reasons for not taking vaccine. It is also a right of every person to choose what they
want to do apart from what they are supposed to do, so that their duties are fulfilled, utilitarianism
theory will be satisfactory for those social workers who doesn't want to take vaccines so that they
can be happy.
Last year the government of UK announced that it is compulsory to take double vaccine for
those who are working the care home centers and social workers, this is because they want to
protect the older people as well as those who are there for some therapy or inability. As if the staff
of those care home are vaccinated then it will reduce the risk of the health of those people residing
in those care homes. Also protect those who are in frequent contact with the social workers for
betterment of the society. This decision was not beneficial for various workers as they left their job
because of this compulsion, which led to the financial crisis in their family, but now as the condition
is improving so they are revoking this legislation as many people have to leave their jobs when it
was first implemented. So now those person can again work in the care homes. This decision was
taken by government also because as most of the population have high immunity. According to
government population of UK also recovered from Omicron so it is now not very important for
everyone to take vaccines. This was the decision which was taken because of the unemployment in
the sector for those who were not able to work because of the legislation, so this is a positive point
for those who were not able to take vaccines because of their personal reasons. Now they can do the
social work as well as work in care home so that they can support their families (Hagan, K. and
et.al., 2022).
As a social worker it is my responsibility to maintain and respect the code of ethics of the
profession as well as my action should convey that I am reliable. According to professional integrity
I should maintain the reputation of social worker profession even when their are crisis. Crisis are
very crucial time for the society and general public seek the help of social worker, so it is
responsibility that social worker cater to their need. That time it was important that social worker
help them in any way for that it was important for them to be vaccinated. If we consider the social
justice values it is important for them to encourage social justice in the society. Distributing
resources is also consider in this value. There are various people who were not able to cater to their
daily needs during lockdown, so social worker are bound to distribute those resouces to them so that
they can cater to their need. Their every decision should be related to the professional judgement as
this will have an impact on the society. It is responsibility of the social worker to spread awareness
into the society regarding everything which is necessary for them. During covid it was also the
responsibility of the social worker to spread awareness about the vaccination so that the situation

can get back to normal. If they are spreading awareness about vaccination they are not vaccinated
so it will put a negative impact on the public. So, they should have a proper justification for their
every action so that the employer or public can understand their view point. As per the human rights
value they are also responsible to promote the human well being. This states that they should be
working for the public interest which help them to make the right decision. This decision will have
motivate the general public to fulfil their part in the society to promote a healthy society and a
proper work environment (Featherstone, Gupta, and Mills, 2018).
It is concluded that there are various reasons for a social worker to take or not take
vaccination which can be either their responsibility or choices. As there are psychological or
medical reasons because of which a social worker will not take the vaccination even if they should
take it. There can be valid reasons which may state that social worker should take vaccines for the
betterment of them, their family or the society. In this essay there are two theories Deontogy and
Utilitarianism which states 2 different ethical theory for a social worker to follow. In deontogical
theory it is said that evey action is appropriate because of its nature not because of the results it
provide. While in the utilitarianism theory states that the happiness of the person counts whether the
action is appropriate for everyone or not. This 2 theories are opposite to each other in the context
which support both the argument for taking vaccination compulsion in the social worker sector. This
essay also include the law regarding compulsion of covid vaccination in the social work sector
which was issued last year. But this law was removed this year because of various reasons one of
them is improvement in the recovery rate of the omicron. The later decision was beneficial for those
who left there job previously because of the compulsion by the law. From the code of ethics of the
social worker profession it can be concluded that a social worker should be vaccinated. This is
because of their responsibility towards their work as well as the society. It is because they are
supposed to encourage other for vaccination, and advice can be given only when the person follows
it as well. So the compulsion can have both impact good as well as bad depends on the person to
person.

References
Books & Journal
Featherstone, B., Gupta, A. and Mills, S., 2018. The role of the social worker in adoption–ethics and
human rights: An Enquiry. Birmingham: British Association of Social Workers.
Hagan, K. and et.al., 2022. COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in the United States:
a social justice policy. Expert review of vaccines. 21(1). pp.37-45.
Okafor, A., 2021. Role of the social worker in the outbreak of pandemics (A case of COVID-19).
Cogent Psychology. 8(1). p.1939537.
Rainer, J., Schneider, J.K. and Lorenz, R.A., 2018. Ethical dilemmas in nursing: An integrative
review. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 27(19-20). pp.3446-3461.
Reamer, F.G., 2019. Ethical theories and social work practice. In The Routledge Handbook of Social
Work Ethics and Values(pp. 15-21). Routledge.
Shekhar, R. and et.al., 2021. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among health care workers in the
United States. Vaccines. 9(2). p.119.