Schools closing for flu

[Busydoingsomething]

A school near me has partially closed due to staff shortages. Another has cancelled all performances. Some of the children will have been vaccinated but I suspect, lots of the staff won’t have been. I was listening to 2 people today, on the train, discussing whether school staff should be vaccinated, to prevent the staff being off and impacting on education. Wondering if this would be a good move.

I’m surprised that they’re not. Would seem an obvious thing to offer.

A lot of schools offer staff flu vaccines but, as it should be, it isn’t compulsory to take it.

Lots of people are getting flu despite being vaccinated because the strain causing the big surge isn't one of the ones included in the vaccines apparently.

I guess that even if only half of them took it up, it could make a massive difference to potential sickness and its effect on the pupils.

They are but the symptoms aren’t as severe as they would have been without the vaccine.

Some places used to offer their staff s free flu jab and have stopped it.
Many people are confused as to whether you can get it because of the emphasis on the free jab.
They don't realise you can pay

A poster from a hospital came on about NHS staff themselves not taking up the jab !! So If NHS staff in busy hospitals are not doing it what hope does anywhere else have .

I've always been offered a flu jab as a school worker.

It's parents not vaccinating their children which is an issue mainly.

Also the flu jab isn't 100% but it should help severity.

It’s dependent on academy chain/LEA. I’ve taught for 25 years and it’s only in my current school that I have been offered it. Colleagues at my old school still don’t.

Some schools offer a vaccine voucher, but it’s incredibly difficult for school staff to get the jab because they absolutely can’t access it during the week (outside the cited pharmacies close at 5, and contrary to popular belief school staff are usually still at work), and then weekends are often too busy to get a slot.

For a couple of years my school brought a pharmacist in to vaccinate staff throughout the day. This was great, but only if you had a PPA you could visit in. Breaks are too short (often 20-30 mins now) to get through many people.

Remember school staff are unimaginably physically and mentally stressed, they often work through minor illnesses and so if they get to the point of needing to take time off they’re often quite unwell. And schools are just filthy places, children have questionable hygiene at best. Children are discouraged from going to the loo most of the time and even when they have the opportunity to do so breaks are so short handwashing is negligible or absent.

Bringing in covid strategies of ventilation and desk wiping between classes would go a long way. And bringing back proper length lunch breaks would benefit staff and students.

Quantity of children in average two form entry primary - 420. Apparently around 50% will be unvaccinated.
A few dozen staff maybe.
It’s not the staff causing the spread of infection!

Oh yes, the stress of having to actually get the vaccine. We have a pharmacist who comes into site between 10-2 … when the majority of us are teaching!

I'd love to get a jab, trying to get a paid for one this weekend.

The uptake in children isn't great.

Absolutely. It’s the children who will be spreading it. But if the staff catch it, who will teach the children? A school full of supply staff won’t be ideal for anyone! So, wouldn’t it be a good idea to vaccinate school staff?

The more of these that I read, the more I’m struggling to understand why there’s not more of a plan to offer vaccines to people who work in schools. In the same way as there is for NHS staff etc.

We can get the money back at our school but we have to book our own appointment. And that's the hard bit!

I had my jab about 6 weeks ago before the rush . Most of the students did get consent for their flu vaccination. I reckon well over 1/2 of the staff aren't vaccinated. A Covid jab would be helpful , too, but they are so expensive . Covid goes round and round school almost constantly. Staff absence is a big problem at the moment.

if We pay for our vaccination, our trust will reimburse us….trying to get an appointment for one at the moment is impossible though!

Our achool gave staff a voucher to get a jab last year and the year before. They haven't this year.

Half the staff have been off with flu.

I wonder if we will get a voucher next year....

Because the JCVI decided we are not worth it. Very few people are eligible for free flu vaccinations now and even fewer for Covid.

The flu uptake in children is very low, at one school I work in it’s 17%.

Two of my local GP surgeries are closed too!

One posted to say they were down to one GP and one receptionist. A couple of hours later closed completely.

Maybe they didn't have the flu jab, or maybe it hasn't impacted in this strain.

Only 40% of children age 5-14 years have had the vaccine despite it being free and provided at school. Parents are the problem here. It’s baffling that anyone wouldn’t take a minute to fill in a simple online form to protect their children and their teachers from flu.

Similarly, only 42% of NHS staff have had the vaccine so less than half of the people treating the huge influx in cases in hospitals are protected. There’s absolutely no excuse for it.

I have the flu jab every year, except this year I can't get an appointment!

My school used to pay for staff to have the flu jab. Cost cutting measures mean we no longer get it.

It only costs £15-25. The issue isn’t that it isn’t offered for free. This issue is that people don’t value vaccines.

Someone in another post said it’s too difficult to get one because pharmacies close at 5pm and weekend slots are all booked up. That may be the case for people living rurally, but for anyone in a larger town or city there are plenty of places offering vaccines after 5pm. I’m in London and could get one in any number of places today if I wanted to, and none of them would be closed at 5pm. However, I would wager few of the staff at my kids schools have had one.

Do schools and nursery’s in uk not have hepa filter machines now?

My Ds has had one in every room at nursery and school since covid. Most enclosed rooms do, ie the doctors waiting room last week, offices generally do also.

Also yes windows and doors opened regularly even in minus temperatures. I see the doors opened at nursery in rooms whilst they have lunch in another, or when children in garden all rooms get a 10min all doors and windows open

I can’t say I have heard of anyone getting major flu here yet, bar regular winter colds im sure.