The Ministry of Health (MoH) is proposing to review the current procedure of vaccination against Covid-19, refusing from the initial regulation that the vaccination against Covid-19 is mandatory for health care workers, at the same providing employers a possibility to decide to set the requirement for employees whose work place is with a high of Covid-19 risk to have a mandatory vaccination.
The submitted amendments to the regulation on Epidemiological Safety Measures for the Containment of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection to limit the spread of the Covid-19 infection explains that starting from September 1, 2022, as a fully vaccinated peroson is a person who has received primary vaccination in accordance with the instruction for use and the Vaccination manual published on the website of the State Medicines Agency. Meaning, no more than 150 days have passed since receiving the last dose of vaccine, or no more than 60 days passed since Janssen or a booster vaccine.
Starting from September 1, this would apply only to healthcare workers, as the regulations stating that requirement to have a mandatory vaccinated against covid is kept only for the representatives of this profession.
At the beginning of August, the State Immunization Council of Latvia stated that due to currently circulating variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the transmission of the illness is no longer comparable to one dose of the vaccine or perceived as a primary vaccination or booster vaccination if carried out a long time ago, as it does not provide such good protection against the current SARS-CoV-2 virus variants. In Latvia, for the majority of inhabitants more than six months have already passed since the last dose of the vaccine, and accordingly the immunity against the virus is not so strong anymore, but the primary vaccination still remains important in preventing severe illness and death.
In Latvia, most people are more than six months past their last dose of the vaccine, and recent data show that vaccination is protecting less against virus transmission, while still plays an important role in preventing severe disease and mortality.
It is expected that in autumn EU countries will receive new, adapted bivalent vaccines against Covid-19, which, as it seems, will better protect persons against the new types of SARS-CoV-2. This means that people are recommended to receive a second booster vaccine in the fall, by using vaccines suitable for bivalent mRNA or other technologies for suitable for booster vaccination.
Also, gradually, along with the receipt of adapted vaccines this fall, the State Immunization Council of Latvia recommends no longer to count the previously received doses of Covid-19 vaccines or the fact of the transmission of the illness, when appointing booster vaccinations, not to create complex Covid-19 vaccination algorithms, but from now in communication indicate and applying it as one seasonal booster vaccine.
ACCORDING TO THE MoH, THE INTRODUCTION OF SUCH A PRINCIPLE WOULD ALLOW A GRADUAL TRANSITION TO A SEASONAL APPROACH In THE PROVISION OF VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19, WHICH WOULD MAKE THE FUTURE VACCINATION algorithm EVEN EASIER TO be UNDERSTood AND IMPLEMENTed.
MoH is convinced that in the current circumstances, it is not rational to maintain the requirement for persons employed at medicine institutions to have a valid vaccination or re–vaccination certificate in order to perform their work duties, and the previously foreseen requirement for these persons, to have a primary or booster vaccination, as of 1 September must be cancelled.
The ministry emphasized that current vaccination is important as it can protect people from serious illness and death. Thus, the definition of «fully vaccinated person» is also updated, not mentioning the «fully vaccinated» term anymore, but emphasizing that a person has been vaccinated with the number of vaccine doses that ensure the protective effect caused by the vaccine in the given time period.
Thus, the mandatory obligation for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 shall be excluded, but taking into account the fact that it is strongly recommended that people who perform their work duties in close contact with people and have a high health risk related to covid, need to have an up–to–date vaccination against Covid-19, which provides protection against the current type of SARS CoV-2, the rules preserve the right of the employer to determine if the work duties to be performed only with a valid vaccination or infection certificate.
THIS to be APPLied TO EMPLOYEES WHO, IN PERFORMING THEIR JOB DUTIES, MAY CREATE A RISK TO THE HEALTH OF OTHER PEOPLE.
This narrows the criteria for workplaces where an employer can oblige an employee to be vaccinated without foreseeing employee’s own health as a criterion for the mandatory vaccination. However, the employer is to retain the right to determine the risk of infection for each employee and the potential risk to the health of others by assessing the employee’s job duties and working conditions and to determine which are the jobs that can only be performed by fully vaccinated persons, taking into account also the following criterion: the employee performs tasks that are critical to the continuity of the organization and the employee’s inability to work may pose a risk to the continuity of the organization’s operations. Thus, the protection of the employee’s health will remain an implicit criterion for vaccination.
Also, the draft of the amendments foresees the condition that if the employee has not been vaccinated within the time determined by the employer, the employer may suspend him from performing his duties. But in order to ensure the protection of workers’ rights, the draft regulations also provide that the employer will not be able to require the employee to take vaccinations in an impossibly short time frame and thus suspend one from his work duties. Therefore, a provision is included that the employer can set a deadline for the vaccination, which is not shorter than one month.