To want to know when school staff and children are going to have Covid vaccinations

[F1ftyF1fty]

I work in a primary school. I have dc in school.

Given the current surge I frankly don’t want to return to school next week and sit in a squashed classroom amongst 30 children all day without PPE or social distancing. I don’t want my dc in a similar environment.

There is now a vaccine but my age group seem to be way down the list. Surely school staff and children should be higher up the list and at the very least have some indication of when they will be vaccinated.

Because is children who are required to spend their day sitting in close contact in large groups. And virus do change. So this is a good chance to make them immune before further developments. And it will stop it spreading from household to household. Your immune system is meant to recognise the virus, and attack it there and then.
It is the people with higher contacts that should be up the list.
Which is the point to vaccinate a 50 or 60 year old that works from home?
I mean, we all should get it ASAP. But to me, it makes more sense to start with those who have more exposure.

Do we know the vaccine doesn’t stop you catching it? We vaccinate children against flu every year to stop them from passing it to vulnerable people, not because they get ill themselves. If the Covid vaccine does the same thing, the benefit of giving it to children is obvious.

@meditrina I do totally understand that but I don't think we can have essential services like education running when we have 50,000 cases per day. It seems wrong to knowingly expose someone to that through their work with no preventative measures.

And, as far as I know, the group with higher risk of death with covid, has already been vaccinated? On the first round of it?

I also agree with vaccinating older teens and eventually children as soon as is safely possible.

@poshme

It hasn't been tested on children.

It isn't approved for children.

They are very unlikely to become very ill, or die of COVID.

Why should kids be prioritised over those more likely to die?

What about the children whose immune systems are compromised?

I agree, schools should shut!

I do think it’s been a real missed opportunity here in Wales.

Secondary schools haven’t been in since 11th December so teachers could have had both doses by now it’s it had been planned properly.

The current Pfizer vaccine isn't licenced for anyone under 18 in the UK.

My 6 year old has had to be home educated since march as he is shielded.
We were devastated to hear the vaccines are not for children.

I had not realised that @Muchtoomuchtodo!
I think they plan to test in mass when they get back. With the fast tests. Not sure if they have changed it, as te news mentioned something about accuracy.
But that would be quite an undertaking! With all the pupils to be tested!

Why do some people think children do not need to be vaccinated?

At present because

a) it has not been tested on DC, is permitted for over 16s only (but testing now underway from r the over 12s)
b) we do not yet know the extent of sterilising immunity it confirms. What we do know is that it reduces severity of disease to mild/asymptomatic for the majority of recipients.

That is why it seems wrong to give it to a group who already get it mildly/asymptomaticly, when there are other groups literally dying to have it

The reason for doing the elderly first is that they are the ones who die and get the serious complications.
But there must be a strong argument for giving it to workers such as teachers, nursery nurses, bus drivers etc before the elderly who live in their own home.
Especially now the new variant seems to be more easily spread by children.
Hopefully most people will get vaccinated in the next 6 months - although that's not much consolation if every working day feels like a risk.

I'm sorry @ofwarren I can't imagine how tough that is for you and him :(
Hopefully things will get safer eventually when the vaccine rolls out.

The current Pfizer vaccine isn't licenced for anyone under 18 in the UK

I think it must be, because priority 6 is the CV age 16-64

They should get testing them pronto. I cannot see why they should be any different in children. But I think they should assess ASAP.
Also, pregnant women. I know it does not apply to them either. At least, they can shield for the months of pregnancy. But it has left a vacuum for pregnant NHS staff.

So a healthy 30 year old teacher should be prioritised over a 60 year old diabetic newly diagosed with breast cancer?
Or an 81 year old with COPD?
Who is most likely to need hospitalisation?
Who is more likely to die?

Secondary schools haven’t been in since 11th December so teachers could have had both doses by now it’s it had been planned properly.

The vaccine hasn't been available for that long and that would mean only vaccinating teachers and no one else at all...why should teachers be a higher priority than others?

@MushMonster

I had not realised that *@Muchtoomuchtodo*! I think they plan to test in mass when they get back. With the fast tests. Not sure if they have changed it, as te news mentioned something about accuracy. But that would be quite an undertaking! With all the pupils to be tested!

They were all ‘taught online’ for the last week of term.

The mass testing will be something, but they’ll all have to go to school at some point to be tested which surely has inherent risks attached..

If I was a teacher, I’d feel happier if I’d had the vaccination before the kids return, and as a parent I’d feel happier knowing that my dc’s teachers had been given the opportunity to be vaccinated not only for their safety but for the continuity of teaching for my dc too. I know that sounds selfish but that’s how I see it.

@RoseandRose
You are correct. The children 16-18 with the condition the same as my son have been told they will be vaccinated by our consultants.

Healthy children don't need it. Healthy young adults don't need it. It should go to those most at risk of hospitalisation and dying.

We were devastated to hear the vaccines are not for children.

They would never have been licensed for children in the first instance, because the authorisation has been rushed through and the quickest group to do that for is non pregnant adults. Licensing for children always takes longer as it requires a second set of trials (they won't test things on children that aren't known to be safe in adults).
That doesn't mean the vaccine isn't suitable for children - it most likely will eventually be given to children but will take a bit longer.

I'm a special needs primary age teacher so personal care and no sd etc. We have vulnerable children, I ring 999 on a fortnightly to weekly basis for 2 or my pupils. They need a vaccine. Already had 2 cases in my class- 1 adult 1 child. Adult felt like they had a bad cold. Child was hospitalized as was her mum.
My dc also primary age go to another school.

@SnackSizeRaisin I had my first dose on 8th December so it absolutely has been available for that long.

Deciding the order of priority for vaccination is a tough call, but the government’s are adamant that education is a priority so surely protecting those who provide that should be a priority too?

Secondary school teachers are exposed to hundreds of different kids every day in enclosed spaces where ventilation is poor. This Pfizer vaccine is tricky to transport so people have to go to central hubs to receive it - teachers are generally far more able to do this than the elderly and infirm. Once the next vaccine gets the go ahead, that’ll make vaccinating our elderly and vulnerable far easier as it can be taken to them.

@quirkyquails

why waste it on a group its not been aimed at? nothing to do with 'attitude' its not been developed for or tested on kids!! they aren't at risk hence schools being open!!

Doublefaced, surely your argument applies to healthy 30 year old nurses, too? But nobody is arguing about the need to vaccinate HCPs? And we know that before Christmas, secondary schools were rife with it - so teachers are being exposed alongside nurses, but without appropriate PPE.