For many professionals, vaccination against COVID-19 has become mandatory. Without it, the employee should not be allowed to perform work.
Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 15, 1999 No. 825 approved a list of works that are associated with a high risk of contracting infectious diseases and require mandatory preventive vaccinations.
This is a list consisting of 12 points. It does not indicate professions, but jobs that are allowed to be performed only if vaccinated.
List of jobs for which vaccination is mandatory during a pandemic
- Agricultural, drainage, construction and other work, procurement, fishing, geological, survey, expedition, deratization and disinfestation work in areas unfavorable for infections common to humans and animals.
- Work on logging, forest improvement, health and recreation areas for the population in areas unfavorable for infections common to humans and animals.
- Work in organizations for the procurement, storage, processing of raw materials and livestock products obtained from farms affected by infections common to humans and animals.
- Work on the procurement, storage and processing of agricultural products in areas unfavorable for infections common to humans and animals.
- Work on the slaughter of livestock suffering from infections common to humans and animals, the procurement and processing of meat and meat products obtained from it.
- Work related to animal care and maintenance of livestock facilities in livestock farms that are vulnerable to infections common to humans and animals.
- Work on catching and keeping stray animals.
- Maintenance work on sewerage structures, equipment and networks.
- Working with patients with infectious diseases.
- Work with live cultures of infectious disease pathogens.
- Work with human blood and biological fluids.
- Work in organizations engaged in educational activities.
If an employee performs any of the jobs listed above, vaccination is no longer voluntary for him.
Vaccination calendar
For those who perform work associated with the risk of infection and want to get vaccinated, a vaccination calendar has been established. This is Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated March 21, 2014 No. 125n “On approval of the national calendar of preventive vaccinations and the calendar of preventive vaccinations for epidemic indications.” It talks about all vaccinations and one of the points is vaccination against coronavirus.
The latest changes to Order No. 125n were made in 2021 and they are precisely related to COVID-19. Appendix 2 of the Order is the Calendar of preventive vaccinations for epidemic indications.
Three priorities have been allocated for vaccinations against coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Level 1 priority is assigned to those who are vaccinated first.
Level 1 priority includes
:
- persons aged 60 years and older;
- adults working in certain professions and positions:
- medical workers,
- educational organizations,
- social service organizations and multifunctional centers;
Level 2 priority includes:
- employees of transport and energy organizations, law enforcement officers, state control bodies at checkpoints across the state border;
- persons working on a rotational basis;
- volunteers;
- military personnel;
- employees of service organizations.
Level 3 priority includes:
- state civil and municipal employees;
- students studying in professional educational organizations and educational organizations of higher education over 18 years of age;
- persons subject to conscription for military service.
That is, the categories listed above can get vaccinated first.
Who has the right to refuse vaccination against coronavirus and for what reasons?
Legal regulation of vaccination (preventive vaccination) is carried out:
- Federal Law of September 17, 1998 No. 157-FZ;
- Federal Law of November 21, 2011 No. 323-FZ.
The above acts do not say how to write a refusal to vaccinate against coronavirus correctly, but they explain the general provisions on medical intervention for individuals of adult age.
IMPORTANT!
Every person has the right to refuse vaccination. No additional reasons are required for this.
For minors under 16 years of age, this right is granted to parents or legal representatives. There is no separate law on refusal of coronavirus vaccinations. But there is a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 15, 1999 No. 825 with a list of professions for which vaccinations, including in connection with a dangerous epidemiological situation, are mandatory. Representatives of the industries that are included in it do not lose the opportunity to disagree, but it carries certain negative consequences for them - removal from work or the inability to get a job in their specialty.
Explanations are established by letters from the Russian Ministry of Health, which are advisory in nature. Vaccination priority is determined for certain categories of citizens. Order of the Russian Ministry of Health dated March 21, 2014 No. 125n establishes three levels of priority for COVID-19. The current legislation does not establish a report on refusal of vaccination against coronavirus; there is no obligation to provide such a document. The medical worker should be guided by the algorithm of actions approved according to the clarifications of the Russian Ministry of Health.
The new calendar of preventive vaccinations (as amended on December 9, 2020), approved by Order of the Russian Ministry of Health dated March 21, 2014 No. 125n, provides for actions against coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is clear from the text of the document that a priority order has been established for certain categories of citizens, but the official legal refusal to vaccinate against coronavirus is valid, and each person has the right not to explain his reluctance to get vaccinated against covid, if this does not contradict general health standards.
Explanations of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated December 9, 2020 No. 17-o/i/2-18965 establish that medical interventions for COVID-19 are carried out with the voluntary consent of citizens. Contraindications for vaccination are:
- allergic reactions;
- age under 18 years;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases or acute stages of other diseases;
- pregnancy (no longer a contraindication);
- breastfeeding;
- severe complications after administration of the first dose of the drug (fever, convulsions);
- hypersensitivity to vaccine components.
In addition to this list, there are cases when medical intervention for COVID-19 is carried out with extreme caution. For example, these include liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, stroke, and asthma. From this list it is clear that writing as a reason for refusing vaccination against coronavirus is a medical exemption or simply a reluctance to get vaccinated.
Based on the identified diseases, a medical professional has the right to recommend not to vaccinate or to carry it out with extreme caution. A motivated explanation of disagreement is not required from a person who has undergone medical intervention. It is enough to record this in writing.
ConsultantPlus experts looked at how an employer can organize vaccination of employees. Use these instructions for free.
Vaccination of children - an example of refusal
His parent or other legal representative has the right to refuse vaccination of a child and avoid vaccination. The procedure is practically no different from that for an adult. Only all the papers are filled out not by the child himself, but by his mother or father. The form used is the same as given above, but sometimes medical institutions limit themselves to its short version:
How to refuse vaccination against coronavirus in a medical organization
No specialized form has been established. Before registering your disagreement with vaccination against coronavirus, you should read the Letter of the Russian Ministry of Health dated December 9, 2020 No. 17-o/i/2-18965. Considering that the document is drawn up at the time of contacting a medical institution, the necessary form is provided to you at the place where the procedure is carried out. Appendix No. 5 approves the form of written refusal to vaccinate against coronavirus and other infections. The following information should be filled in the text:
- Full name of the citizen;
- year of birth;
- registration address;
- name of the medical institution;
- signature, position and full name of the health worker;
- citizen's signature;
- date of document preparation.
The demands of a medical institution specialist to indicate the reasons for disagreement are unfounded. The form does not specify what to write in the reason for refusing a Covid vaccination; such information is not mandatory. In addition to the function of certifying the decision of an individual, consent implies awareness of the features of the procedure (what vaccination implies, the number of stages of the procedure, possible complications, the mandatory preliminary medical examination). This is what an example of refusing vaccination against coronavirus looks like on an official form:
It is not established at the legislative level in what form a refusal to vaccinate against coronavirus in the military is made; a separate document form has not been established. Before the start of a medical procedure, each individual is given information material that introduces the procedure and possible consequences. The form of the material is established by Appendix No. 3 to the Letter of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated December 9, 2020 No. 17-o/i/2-18965. Based on these clarifications, a text refusing vaccination against Covid and other diseases was compiled.
You will learn:
Which employees will have to be suspended from work
? Who has the right to do this?
What to consider when drawing up a removal order
Is there a legal alternative to suspension?
What are the consequences of suspension for the employee and the employer?
Since vaccination against COVID-19 is included in the all-Russian vaccination calendar, the leadership of a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation obliged heads of areas of activity to remove employees who did not get vaccinated.
How to express disagreement with vaccination at work
In more than 20 Russian regions, chief sanitary doctors have introduced mandatory vaccination for state and municipal employees and representatives of a number of professions. We are talking not only about those indicated in Government Decree No. 825, but also about persons who are employed in:
- trade;
- cultural sector;
- organizing children's leisure and recreation;
- SPA services;
- services to the population (dry cleaners, laundries, repair shops);
- client sector of banks, post offices and MFCs;
- public transport;
- courier services;
- housing and communal services.
Read more - “In which regions of the Russian Federation has mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 been introduced.”
Since many citizens, for one reason or another, do not want to be vaccinated, they are interested in how to competently refuse compulsory vaccination and what reasons to indicate. Even if a person’s specialty is included in the list from Resolution No. 825, he is not obliged to explain his reluctance to perform medical procedures. A form intended for reporting this to a medical organization will not be suitable for the employer. At work, it is necessary to draw up a separate document if the employer issued an order requiring employees to undergo immunization.
Let’s figure out how to write a letter of refusal to get vaccinated against coronavirus at work correctly:
- we write to the director;
- we refer to a local document of the organization (notification, order, order);
- It is not necessary to write the reason, but we can indicate it if desired;
- We put the date and signature.
Reporting
Don't forget about reports. Whether you need to fill out a report or not, see the decree of the chief sanitary doctor or the act of the head of your region.
We wrote about how to fill out a report on vaccinated employees here
The first report - with information about vaccination of employees with a single-component vaccine and vaccination with the first component - had to be submitted by July 15. Due to the fact that many did not manage to do this on time, the deadline was extended until July 22. The second is about vaccination of employees with the second component - until August 15 inclusive.
WHICH EMPLOYEES SHOULD BE REMOVED
Now let’s move from the sphere of regulatory legal acts to the area of explanations from officials. Let us consider and analyze the Joint Explanations of the Ministry of Labor of Russia and Rospotrebnadzor mentioned at the beginning of the article and the letter of Rostrud No. 1811-TZ, as well as the responses of officials on the website Onlineinspektsiya.rf.
First of all, let's deal with percentages. The decrees of the chief sanitary doctors of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation indicate a specific percentage of company employees for whom vaccination must be provided. More often it is 60%, but you can find 65% (St. Petersburg), 70% (Yakutia), 80% (Leningrad region) and even 90% (Chechen Republic). In some regions, sanitary doctors did not indicate this percentage at all (Dagestan, Volgograd region), probably meaning that all workers should be vaccinated (i.e. 100%).
In the Joint Interpretation, officials showed how to calculate the percentage of workers already vaccinated. Using this information, we will derive a formula to determine the number of workers who need to be vaccinated (for 60%):
Who belongs to the remaining 40%? This information can also be obtained from the Joint Interpretations. Officials believe that in order to stabilize the situation with the incidence of COVID-19, it is necessary to ensure collective immunity at a level of at least 80% of the payroll. The distribution should be as follows:
That is, the 40% (those who may not have a vaccination certificate) can include the workers listed in the right column of the table. If there are none or less than 40%, the list for vaccination may not include workers who do not have direct contact with people, are not at high risk of infection and will not cause the spread of infection (for example, those working remotely and at home). The employer is given the right to independently determine who will be included in the list of employees subject to vaccination .
Is it necessary to suspend workers who refuse vaccination from work if the target of 60% of those vaccinated has already been completed?
Rospotrebnadzor for the city of Moscow believes that employees who fall into 40% of the total workforce of departments located in Moscow, who are not vaccinated for various reasons, are allowed to work at the discretion of the employer[11].
Rostrud specialists also refer to this letter when answering citizens’ questions on the website Onlineinspektsiya.rf[12].
In the explanations on the website of the mayor of Moscow[13] we read: “When monitoring the implementation by employers of the resolution of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor, only compliance with the requirement to vaccinate the established number - at least 60 percent of the total number - will be assessed.
Subject to the fulfillment of this requirement, the employer must independently make a decision regarding employees who do not have a medical exemption from vaccination and refuse preventive vaccination, including taking into account the level of their epidemiological contacts and participation in the chain of transmission of the virus.”
The concept and types of preventive vaccinations
Preventive vaccinations are injections of a small amount of viruses aimed at producing certain antibodies.
Subsequently, the body becomes immune to the disease. In accordance with the order of the Ministry of Health of 2014, the list of preventive vaccinations includes vaccinations against:
- viral hepatitis B;
- flu;
- tuberculosis;
- pneumococcal infection;
- diphtheria;
- whooping cough;
- polio;
- tetanus;
- hemophilus influenzae infection;
- measles;
- rubella;
- mumps and others.
An important feature of these vaccinations is that they are given free of charge and on a voluntary basis. That is, the final decision regarding vaccination is made by an adult citizen. Their parents are responsible for children, so it depends on the father and mother whether they will be vaccinated.
Healthy! Every person has the right to refuse vaccination for himself and his child; no liability is provided for this action. But the refusal of a school director or the head of a kindergarten to admit an unvaccinated child is a direct violation of Russian legislation.
