to think if they vaccinate teachers- they should also do shop and other key worker too?

[Pat123dev]

I understand teachers want vaccination, who wouldn't want it. But why are other key workers not being considered too? Shop workers, police force many others, must see 100s if not 1000s of people a day?
Or is that why they're not vaccinating them yet, because they're all exposed more than those at home and it's too big a group so best to stick vulnerable for the time being?

I think it should still be by clinical need. If you are a teacher and in one of the vulnerable or older age groups then you will get your vaccine before younger people with no risks but why on earth should a 25/35 year old with no health problems jump the queue. And I say that with a much loved sister who is a teacher. I’m sure she would also like to see our 66 year old mother vaccinated before her.

According to stats teachers are at no greater risk, and vaccinating them will not stop bubbles closing. If a child tests positive the bubble will still close. All four of the bubbles which closed at DS’ school were due to a child testing positive. There was no transmission within bubbles

Isn't the point more that if half your supermarket staff, or your police, go off sick, the other half will do a shed load of overtime, but if half your school staff go off sick, the school will close, impacting on hundreds of families ability to go to work?

Oh for god's sake not this again. As a supply teacher I'll put it bluntly, other key works can wear masks and visors and social distance. Teachers were told not too. Children are super spreaders. If you want the children back at school, so their parents can go to work, you either need the government to pour more funding into making the classrooms safe, e.g social distancing, let them wear PPE, or if not then vaccinate them so they can't get I'll or pass on covid to their vulnrable family members. It's really as simple as kids in school, parents at work. Teachers safe. If schools are so safe then why did the government refuse to publish the evidence saying that? why did the unions take them to high court? Why did they close them after a day of mixing? I say all this with a DH who will die if he gets covid. The amount of ignorance about this, or lack of respect and care for teachers, never fails to astound me.

I would do police first then teachers. (as an ex teacher) or better still both go in the same category. Police can be low contact outside for quite a bit, but the close up they have to do is with the riskiest, most unlikely to comply, most likely to hate the police and want to kill them, especially at the point of contact.

Prison officers who are in a confined space with over 200 people, including positive cases.

Who also get cuffed to covid positive prisoners in hospitals aren’t even eligible for the vaccination, I don’t see why teachers should be prioritised over this.

@SimpleLife003

Prison officers who are in a confined space with over 200 people, including positive cases.

Who also get cuffed to covid positive prisoners in hospitals aren’t even eligible for the vaccination, I don’t see why teachers should be prioritised over this.

I don't think anyone's saying that they should be prioritised over them. I'm a retired teacher and I volunteer in a secure facility. I would definitely vaccinate prison/detention officers as a priority

The vaccinating teachers argument is a distraction from the real issue, namely that classrooms provide the perfect conditions for viruses to spread.

As an alternative, the government could listen to scientists and unions and work to make school environments safe.

There was a piece in the news today about how covid is spreading in call centres and offices. I have never seen pupils in a classroom as distanced from each other as office workers (except during lock downs).

Making schools safer would help with community transmission too.

But it costs money!

I do agree that workers who cannot be provided with proper protection at work (e.g. police officers) should be higher in the queue. I do understand why older people are prioritised, but in many cases they are more able to socially distance from others and keep safe that way.

I can't believe there are people dim enough to believe that it's teachers agitating to get it for their own benefit.

They are being prioritised so that schools can open. How stupid do you have to be to think there's any other reason?

It's all about Johnson wanting the schools open.

Good grief.

I think there needs to be a rejig. I've said a few times on here now that as a healthy 40 something who works from home I can wait. I would prefer my soon to be a student son to get it before me.

And it stands to reason that school, police and prison staff should be vaccinated before me, regardless of age.

@Shadysback

Because teachers make a fuss and threaten strikes, whereas it seems other key workers are prepared to just get on with it and do what needs to be done.

Ahhh yes

just get on with it

I wonder how different history would be if people always took that view.

The women who fought for rights? How dare they. Just get on with it they should've been told.

I'd say the women who fought for women's rights did just get on with it. They were hardly sat at home, afraid of getting a virus. I'm not sure what point you are making there?

Oh but surely by your logic, they should've just been happy with the situation they currently had? How dare they try and fight against the norm? How could they possibly think they could achieve something outside of what others thought they could?

I'm with @mouldyhouse101 and I'm not sure how the point can be missed? Of COURSE we should stand up for our rights and for what we believe in rather than just roll over and 'just get on with it' 🤦

Turns out the Prison Officers aren't just getting on with it. They also have a union that's fighting for them regarding vaccination. Are the anti-union posters going to start a thread complaining about that too?

www.poauk.org.uk/news-events/news-room/posts/2021/january/circ-010-covid-vaccine-deployment/

saraclara

Are the anti-union posters going to start a thread complaining about that too?

Of course not, 90% of the reason that people on here bitch about teachers is because they hate teachers.

[quote LadyMayoGoodway]@Sinful8 yep!! Pretty fucking furious with Kier S, totally muddying the waters about why schools are closed which is really fucking unhelpful.

It’s not about teachers.....research shows they’re at no increased risk (altho I do feel sorry for the poor bastards being with a load of kids who don’t/won’t social distance etc.)

However It’s the fact that for every class teacher that’s ‘at risk’ there’s at least 30-60 parents per class who are also at risk if schools stay open. They aren’t closed to stop a class giving it to one teacher, they’re closed to stop the kids in that class getting it and spreading to their parents, of which per class you have 30-60 - that’s the risk. Vaccinating teachers is going to do bollocks all to stop the rates of infections and subsequent deaths and hospitalisations!![/quote]
Absolutely this

It is perfectly possible to get on with it and fight for rights as well. What bugs me is the constant repetition that schools are too dangerous for teachers and must be closed. You don't hear that from any other essential roles.

I fully support any key workers including teachers asking to be vaccinated as soon as the elderly and vulnerable are done. I am really hoping I will get a jab in the not too distant future. In the meanwhile however I will keep going to work whatever happens with Covid because my job needs to be done. I'd just like to see teachers doing the same.

You don't hear that from any other essential roles.

Ahhh so because no one else says anything, you don't want teachers to say anything?

Or is it simply that you don't want a teachers voice to be heard before yours?

To put it bluntly, you're annoyed someone is getting the vaccine before you. Possibly even jealous.

How can I be jealous. As far as I'm aware teachers aren't getting it yet, and neither are any other key workers if they aren't medical staff. It is all still under discussion. I simply want DC not to be rotting at home when they could be getting an education. I am quite shocked to find that some teachers do not see that as a priority.

It’s quite simple. If you want children in school full time being taught , you need to make sure that there is someone there to teach them and it’s a safe environment.
If the teacher or TA is off with Covid, the whole class has to be kept at home self isolating. Most parents, even key worker parents have had to keep their children at home for some of the time because of this.
Teachers may not be at higher risk of death from Covid (depending on how you read and spin the statistics) but they are at a higher risk of catching Covid with TAs at an even higher risk.
If education is to be prioritised so that we can all get back to work, the school staff need to be as Covid resistant as they can be. At the moment I think that means protecting them with the vaccine as soon as reasonably practical.

@Shadysback

Teachers in all special schools/referral units are being offered it

Having spent the morning doing LFT tests in a senior school I really feel we need to get schools open again. The children in this school are normally bright and chatty (pre Covid). They were like ghosts today. Visibly anxious and sad. Not only are they prevented from socialising at school but are trapped in their rooms at home. It’s inhumane. Now we have vaccinated the most vulnerable age groups we need to push to open schools. I don’t see it as jumping the queue but safeguarding the next generation’s mental health.
Unless you were brought up abroad in a area with human rights issues you have no idea just how these teenagers are feeling.
Only 18 months ago, if you locked your children up and stopped them attending school social services would be seriously interested in you.
As a frontline HCP I have had my vaccine and was on the fence about prioritising teachers. After today it can’t come too soon.

@Shadysback you seem to think that teachers are not getting on with their job. Why do you think that?

@Riv - I thought that currently if you are exposed to the virus you have to isolate regardless of your vaccination status - so it won’t help staffing apart - from the direct infection by teachers to other teachers/or children. I might be wrong, and it might change when studies on transmission by those vaccinated come out (I think fairly soon) but right now teachers being vaccinated - or not - will have little effect on bubbles bursting.

I also thought that teachers were allowed to wear masks depending on the school? I absolutely think they should. But please don’t think that when we are at work on the covid wards we are wearing the full PPE get up all the time that you see in the news. Especially earlier in the year it was surgical mask, gloves and an apron unless it was an aerosol generating procedure - so, if teachers can wear masks, the PPE worn in hospital was similar to what you guys have at your disposal. I think you should be able to wear a mask and it’s wrong if you can’t.

I think groups could perhaps be divided between those who can socially isolate and key workers who can’t - with those who can’t taking priority over others in a similar category - but I don’t think teachers jumping ahead of others will actually help get children back to school, or particularly reduce community transmission.

[quote Riv]@Shadysback you seem to think that teachers are not getting on with their job. Why do you think that?[/quote]
stupidity can't be ruled out.