近日来英国邮政系统的罢工，直接影响到了政府原计划发放的1100万疫苗的发放。英国卫生部长Sir Liam Donaldson表示对此担忧。
The postal strike threatens to undermine efforts to vaccinate 11 million people against swine flu, Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government’s chief medical officer, has said.
Sir Liam said the authorities were working on contingency plans to ensure vulnerable people would still be able to receive notification of their appointments.
Up to 120,000 members of the Communication Workers Union are set to walk out on Thursday and Friday in the long-running row withe the Royal Mail over pay, jobs and working conditions. Their strike coincides with the beginning of a programme to vaccinate health care professionals, pregnant women and others whose medical conditions make them more vulnerable to the swine flu virus.
This week will see doctors, nurses and other medical staff receive their jabs but next week GPs will start giving injections to selected members of the public, who will be notified by mail.
The CWU has warned that it is prepared to call further walkouts in the run-up to Christmas, threatening to disrupt the programme.
"We are a little bit worried about the postal strike because GPs send their letters out, letters of appointment, so we are working very hard to try and get around that, ensuring that people get their appointments in time," Sir Liam said.
Asked how they would get appointment letters to people if a strike goes ahead, Sir Liam replied: "By bundling the mail up and ensuring that it is delivered because some mail will still be delivered for urgent situations, so we are going to try and sort out that little glitch – which isn’t a particularly welcome thing to happen in the middle of having this vaccine." :天译时代翻译培训网
In Britain, 37,000 people have contracted swine flu, and since the outbreak began in April it has been linked to 100 deaths.
At risk groups will be given the Swine flu the following order: people aged over six months and under 65 years in current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at risk groups; all pregnant women; household contacts of people with compromised immune systems and people aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at risk groups.
The Department of Health said this did not include otherwise healthy over 65s, since they appeared to have some natural immunity to the virus.
The GSK vaccine, Pandemrix, will be offered to the ’’vast majority’’ with most people needing only one dose of this vaccine for protection.
Union representatives and Royal Mail managers are continuing talks aimed at halting the strike but so far there has been no real sign that the walkouts could be called off.
Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, intervened in the row yesterday to warn that the Union’s action was putting small businesses at risk of bankruptcy and threatening the future of the Royal Mail.
’’If it stands still, this company faces terminal decline,’’ he told the House of Lords.
The management and union had agreed to three of the four phases of a modernisation plan to replace ’’outdated working practices’’, he said.
Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, responded with anger.
’’Peter Mandelson’s rereading of old Royal Mail press releases helps no one. Repeating the management mantra that is blatantly untrue is extremely unhelpful," he said.
转载请注明出处。
相关推荐