The requirement for NHS staff to be double-jabbed will be formally dropped after a public consultation and parliamentary approval. The decision comes just three days before the 3 February deadline when unvaccinated NHS workers who have face-to-face contact with patients would need to have their first dose or lose their job.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said vaccination as a condition of deployment had been revisited after Omicron replaced Delta as the dominant variant of coronavirus. He said that when vaccination as a condition of deployment was introduced Delta was the dominant variant representing 99% of cases. Omicron has now replaced Delta as the dominant variant at 96% of cases.

According to government figures, more than 37 million booster jabs have now been administered in the UK, providing a good level of protection across the country.

This, coupled with the lower levels of hospitalisation and mortality, suggests the population as a whole is now better protected, with the latest evidence suggesting that the risk of presentation to emergency care or hospital admission is approximately half of that for Delta.

The government said that, as a result, it had re-examined the policy as it considered how best to achieve public health and safety with the minimum number of restrictions or requirements on people’s lives.

However, ministers stressed that even though the legal requirement on NHS deployment is set to be revoked, those working in health and social care still have a ‘professional duty’ to get vaccinated and boosted.

If the rule change had gone ahead, NHS staff would have needed to have their first Covid jab by this Thursday and second dose by 31 March.

Unions said scrapping the vaccination rules had come too late. Unison described the rules as ‘ill-thought-out’ and said they had already worsened the staffing crisis hampering the NHS and social care.

Christina McAnea, Unison general secretary, said: “This was the right thing to do. But it shouldn’t have taken the government so long to realise the huge mistake it was making. Ministers were repeatedly warned the jab rules would cause staffing chaos for the NHS and the care sector but chose not to listen. Unfortunately, much of the damage has already been done.

“Thousands of care workers have been forced from jobs they love, leaving employers struggling. Many staff will also have quit the NHS ahead of this week’s deadline.”

Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, said: “GMB’s position on mandatory vaccines has been consistent – we oppose legally enforced medical procedures as a condition of employment – it’s heavy-handed and will deepen the staffing crisis.

“Persuasion and encouragement are how to address concerns around the vaccine. The Government’s U-turn comes too late in the day for thousands of workers in our care homes who have already lost their jobs because of an unrealistic vaccination policy.

“It’s yet another reflection of this ministers’ failure to deal with the staffing crisis in social care; caused by low pay and poor treatment. People are voting with their feet, choosing to work in supermarkets or warehouses instead.”