HUNDREDS of care home workers in Bolton will lose their jobs in November if they decline to get fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

And local politicians are divided over the Government’s controversial move.

From November 11, anyone working or volunteering in a care home will need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus, unless they are exempt.

Bolton West MP Chris Green is against compulsory vaccinations for care home workers – or anyone else.

He said: “I support that people ought to be free to choose. The ongoing effectiveness of the vaccination programme in Bolton and across the country is phenomenal.

“The vast majority of the vulnerable have been double vaccinated. If we believe they work, which I do – then why must there be this extraordinary breach of civil liberties?”

Mr Green has also spoken out about vaccine passports, highlighting that being fully vaccinated does not stop individuals from catching Covid-19 or spreading it to other people.

Cllr Andy Morgan, the borough’s adult services cabinet member, who owns a care home said: “I am fully supportive of the requirement to get vaccinated if you work in the care sector. We are trusted to look after some of society’s most vulnerable people.

“I think families with relatives in care homes would expect us to take all the cautions and measures possible to stop the virus. Most of our staff are already vaccinated. But for those who aren’t before November 11, we will have to make them redundant.

Mr Morgan previously invited Dr Helen Wall, the senior responsible officer for the Covid vaccination programme in Bolton, to his care home to talk with employees who had reservations about the vaccine.

More than a quarter of UK care home staff do not believe the vaccines should be mandatory for them to work, according to a new survey. Around 67 per cent supported the Government’s move. But more than a quarter disagreed and six per cent said they unsure in the poll by carehome.co.uk.