The General Optical Council (GOC) have co-signed a letter to student optometrists & dispensing opticians highlighting the importance of vaccination against transmissible diseases.

GOC said on its website:

“As we move to the Government’s ‘living with COVID-19’ phase, we have co-signed a letter to student optometrists and student dispensing opticians highlighting the ongoing importance of vaccination against transmissible diseases and the personal and professional responsibilities they have under our Standards.”

In the joint letter to student optometrists and student dispensing opticians on vaccinations GOC, amongst other organisations, wrote:

The strong recommendation therefore from the regulatory, government and professional representative bodies is that anyone in patient-facing roles should be vaccinated in line with each nation’s public health advice. We encourage employers and educational institutions to support this aim by sharing the benefits of being vaccinated with their staff and students. 

We advise that where a student or healthcare professional is not fully vaccinated because of a medical exemption or other reason, they must take particular care to follow rigorous infection prevention and control measures including ensuring self testing in line with public health advice and not going into work or their place of study if unwell. 

If you are still unsure about whether to have the primary vaccine course and/or booster, please speak to your personal tutor or your educational institution’s advice services, employer, professional body or GP, or access public health advice online. 

 

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