Vaccine Priority: Teachers or Police

[Peachered]

Only posting in AIBU for the voting (and I have simplified a massively complex issue) but hypothetically if an employment group was to have priority who do you think should be prioritised:

YABU - teachers should have vaccine priority
YANBU - police should have vaccine priority

(voting options don't reflect my preference necessarily).

And, should either of these groups have priority over those on the flu vaccine list (so pre-existing conditions but not CEV)...

I'm a clinically vulnerable teacher. If they prioritised another profession (outside of current ones) which meant my vaccine would be pushed back, I think I'd honestly quit after the day I've had in school. I thought March was bad. I've never felt to stressed and exhausted. Fuck this.

@Whattheactual20201

Did someone say police can social distance 🤣🤣🤣

More likely to have to man handle a criminal than a 4 year old.

The social distancing / covid safety things in my office is stickers. That's it.

I’m a police officer and would say they probably ought to be on equal footing.’, different issues in each environment.

However I’m getting quite uncomfortable with the clamouring to get to the front of the queue. Neither group should be prioritised over those most likely to get really ill and/or die.

Let’s get the most vulnerable covered first (including any vulnerable teachers/police) and then argue over who gets to go next.

People working in factories / manufacturing / food processing plants also need to be given priority

"Vaccinate the teachers" has become the new war cry for the parent faction in my DC's school who were demanding the windows were closed and that lock down was lifted until a week ago (and merrily bending/breaking the rules to suit). It's an incredibly affluent area (everyone has an acre of garden, five bedrooms, online schooling, immediate access to the countryside, mostly SAHM) etc. They don't give a shit about the teachers, just don't like having their child under their feet and don't consider that actual real people will be damaged by the overwhelmed hospitals in our area. I do think that there needs to be an urgent review of how to keep the teaching staff who are having to attend school to look after vulnerable children and critical workers children. Whether that is the wearing of PPE for secondary age (where appropriate for special needs), or the vaccination of those staff, I don't know.. Maybe a combination of the two if that was possible to administer. Police - I don't know enough about the possibility of wearing effective protection (face shields with masks, etc). Then, dustbin men, bus drivers, etc, etc... What I don't want to see is teachers being vaccinated ahead of the queue in order to open up schools irrespective of need, leading to further community spread, etc.

Re police officers getting left over vaccines, I heard this too, on the radio for those asking the other poster for a source. I will see if I can find it.

My son's headteacher is married to a policeman.

Poor couple being pitted against each other like that.

This is because some over 80s have been declaring they want the England vaccine not the American one

I can believe this, my Mum was asking me if she should wait for the Oxford vaccine. The hype is crazy, particularly when you look at levels of immunity conferred by each vaccine.

Incidentally, I'm not quite sure why the OxfordAZ vaccine is being feted as a great British achievement. There will have been multiple nationalities working on this and Pharmaceuticals are international businesses with sites across the world. AZ is making vaccine in manufacturing plants across the world, as are Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax, GSK etc etc.

I don't know why there can't just be a category to cover workers who come into contact with a lot of people rather than having first one occupation then another after that and another after that and so on. Police, teachers, shop workers etc are all important in their own way. It's very hard to compare them when they offer such different services.

As a police officer with a school age child I want to see teachers vaccinated ASAP. Police officers are used to not feeling safe at work and there is no danger of us downing tools because there has been yet another risk added to the many we are used to facing every day. Teachers, or at least their unions seem to be determined to keep teachers out of the workplace unless it is completely safe for them to be at work, so for that reason I want teachers vaccinated so DC can get back to school as soon as the numbers allow it. Obviously they should come after the most elderly and vulnerable have been done though.

Teachers get my vote

It’s like “would you rather”, you have to choose one, can’t be sitting on the fence.

Police - security trumps education.

The two professions may have been chosen for this poll due to the same you'd mentioned on radio earlier today.

@SexTrainGlue

Neither group should displace the first phase (most vulnerable) groups. Because I want to see significant relaxation of restrictions and that cannot happen without vaccinating those who are most likely to be hospitalised

But I would put occupational groups at the top of phase 2, and would put the following in to top category:

• emergency services, prisons, staff and residents of other residential units, social workers, teachers, military, other officials key to pandemic response

Next:

• all other key workers

Yep I agree with this. In terms of teacher vs police. I say put them both as priority at the top of the second phase.

Teachers. Kids need to be in school. Police aren’t surrounded by 30 others for 6 hours a day.

I haven't caused more division, and I am not pitting anyone against anyone.

The reason the two professions were chosen (haven't actually heard the radio) is it has caused a massive fall out between a friendship group and I am really not sure where I stand with it - I am not getting involved with the argument but I can see the cases and reasoning for prioritisation for both sides in some instances for each profession.

I wondered if there was a clear cut response in the general public to this question, or whether people would be equally torn.

I do think that those who are most exposed should be vaccinated after the vulnerable population rather than stating one profession over another, and that exposure rates should be looked at across all sectors who are having to work in work, with risk of exposure, at the moment.

Thank you for all the responses and reasons provided.

@Spaghettipie1

I think Police are much more at risk than teachers, they have to get very close to people who may be violent/spitting, sit in the back of a car with them, break up illegal parties and gatherings.

But so do teachers in special educational schools and units.

If fact they are in a room with pupils who often don't understand social distancing and also spit bite and hit.

I'd like to see frontline police (so those on the beat) and special school staff prison staff as a separate category above mainstream schools and general police service.

DfE keep making rules separately about special schools so I hope this isn't a time they decide to lump them in together again!

Those voting for teachers in general, rather than school staff required to look after vulnerable and key worker children... what is your view of the spread into the community from schools?

Both.

Actually the Army as everyone is relying on them delivering them, by their huge operation.
We want them Alive first.

Keep to the current vulnerable groups and then after all over 50s are done, police and fire service followed by retail and hospitality workers followed by hairdressers, beauticians and tattoo artists and only then teachers.

Teachers over police, but neither over vulnerable people. I also disagree that keyworkers should be prioritised, it should be anyone who has to work out of the home. Some keyworkers can work from home, some non-keyworkers can't.

I also think by the time they get to the under 50's, there will be much more vaccine around and all the vaccination centres set up. It will be logistically difficult to do by profession, as would take much admin time, they may as well just say anyone under 50 book your appointment if you want one, and not prioritise anyone.

It is truly pitiful that we are answering this question and pitting one group of key workers against another. Vaccinate both professions as a priority. The country needs them both to function.

This is a pathetic question and it makes me really sad that this is what we have come to and this is our culture in the UK.

Both on the list - same level.