Why aren't they vaccinating teachers now?

[Dingdong99]

I just can't get my head around this

Surely if they vaccinate all the school staff, schools can reopen, kids can get on with their education

A lot of kids are really struggling now (and their parents). I just don't understand why they aren't prioritising schools reopening by vaccinating teachers

Am I missing something?

Teaching unions will likely oppose reopening until teachers have had their 2nd dose

I think this is wholly invented

But if true and teachers were done ahead of vulnerable working age population in every other (nonNHS/care role) - eg next after current categories, so starting mid Feb, they would be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after second dose, so roughly the end of May.

It shouldn't be open (fully) or closed (open to keyworker and vulnerable ) as the only options
If you look to the rest of the world and within Europe. Pretty much everywhere, except Brazil, has a higher level of mitigation than the UK!

France may be opening schools but with the average class sizes at least 10 students less than the UK there will be more room for social distancing. There less community spread🤷‍♀️

Just like the NHS, the Pandemic has highlighted the issues that chronic underfunding to vital services bring. Packed hospitals and packed schools, staff shortage issues ... all made worse by the Pandemic.

A huge proportion of NHS staff off ill, same with school staff? Limited mitigation brings these services to a halt!
Somehow (no idea how) schools need to throw a lot of money at schools to ensure reduced class sizes and the use of PPE, bring them in line with the rest of Europe.

As a Secondary teacher I think the 2 weeks in 2 weeks remote is the best option. Not great, but better if this is going to move into spring!
Btw ... usforthem will bring the Unions out in full force, trying to campaign for completely unsafe working conditions is appalling! the NAHT are still waiting for evidence from the DFE that schools are 'safe' ... very telling.

Are Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid thick?

They seem to think getting to a prescribed number of infections and hospital rates means we can just open schools up. And vaccinating teachers also means the same.

Yet they were the ones shouting about the transmission rates and closing schools a month ago. Surely they must have a level of intelligence to know the transmission rate won't change? It's not about numbers etc but rather balancing the R rate as we've been told all along?

Has there been any data published for hospital admissions and deaths, with regards to which sector working aged people work? I know that cases amongst school staff is high when compared to the general public in terms of cases, although i feel we need to see the same data based on just working aged people. I don't recall any comparison data amongst just working age people, which would be a more accurate comparison. This would need to be for hospital admissions and deaths not cases. Before any further vaccine priority can be established, need to see how much higher the risk of community transmission is for teachers compared to a shop assistant, police officer ect.

Schools are not closed because of the risks to teachers and other staff.

The period of time when schools were open AND the new strain was dominant across the country was a short period in the middle of December weeks. I don't think it will actually be possible to do a thorough comparison between teachers v shop workers etc.

It may be possible to do a comparison under the old variant, but this data hasn't been made available.

@feelingquitehopeful

I wonder why all these posts won't schools to stay closed, pref indefinitely. Reminds me of last summer, when we had one death a day and people were still screeching it is not safe.

We need to open schools urgently.

Except right now we’re at 600+ deaths a day, 30000 infections per day and schools are the best way to continue and increase community transmission to make those figures even worse. Stop now.

The priority is preventing people from dying/needing hospitalisation.

Teachers are not the cohort putting pressure on the nhs, so they would not be a priority for vaccination.

The key thing we need to do is prevent people getting seriously ill from Covid in large numbers.

Preventing low risk people from getting Covid is not a priority at this point.

Us4them should hang their heads in shame. Teaching staff, unions and sensible parents have been asking for schools to open as safely as possible since the start of this debacle. What has been done for safety? Absolutely nothing that will make any difference to an asymptomatic virus. Hence we have ended up with vast amounts of transmission in schools and with new variants this will be even worse.
To continue to expect schools to function as normal while the NHS is on its knees is foolish in the extreme, the government should be hauled over the coals for not introducing measures that most other countries have successfully managed. The insistence on no masks in school has probably contributed to all children being kept at home.
Schools should be looking at distancing, hygiene and protective measures in school as a matter of urgency, teachers absolutely deserve vaccinating when appropriate, but that is only part of the equation. Schools open at any cost will produce a repeat of the situation we are in now, as teachers have been saying all along.

Because we need to vaccinate those most likely to die first.

@feelingquitehopeful

Many highly respected MPs have just joined the campaign, and this morning most papers are reporting the huge backlash about schools.

I am tired of talking about everything but children's welfare! So I will be joining every campaign going until they reopen schools. Our children the true victims of this pandemic, and it is up to you if you are happy to take this lying down, but I am not! I have an app with my MP via zoom this morning to discuss what can be done. I suggest you all contact your MP, join the campaign and lets get the schools open!

In that case, am assuming that you will be insisting that schools are given money to make them more covid secure. That you are asking for some kind of blended learning approach?

Or do you want schools to open like they were? With fuck all mitigation in place? Because it's Us for Them and people like you which has led schools to be in this situation in the first place.

If proper mitigation had been put in place before schools opened in Sept, I very much doubt that the situation would be so bad now.

@MsJaneAusten with the new variant it’s a level playing field

It’s much easier to catch from shorter contact.

@feelingquitehopeful

Yet more bored teachers posting...

Here we go again- you are so transparent.

I'd err caution joining us for them,

I think other ways of asking for school to open maybe more appropriate. Us for them seems to be a rather shadowy organisation with dubious links to the gov and shady funding...

How will vaccinating teachers now reduce pressure on the NHS?

Those that want school open before it's actually safe to do so.. I think if you can offer to volunteer to be a body in the classroom, that would be more useful.

Then teachers can conduct lessons from home safely and you can help keep the children who want to be, under control to listen?

@Drinkarsefeck

Us4them should hang their heads in shame. Teaching staff, unions and sensible parents have been asking for schools to open as safely as possible since the start of this debacle. What has been done for safety? Absolutely nothing that will make any difference to an asymptomatic virus. Hence we have ended up with vast amounts of transmission in schools and with new variants this will be even worse. To continue to expect schools to function as normal while the NHS is on its knees is foolish in the extreme, the government should be hauled over the coals for not introducing measures that most other countries have successfully managed. The insistence on no masks in school has probably contributed to all children being kept at home. Schools should be looking at distancing, hygiene and protective measures in school as a matter of urgency, teachers absolutely deserve vaccinating when appropriate, but that is only part of the equation. Schools open at any cost will produce a repeat of the situation we are in now, as teachers have been saying all along.

Well said

If a teacher posts about wanting to be vaccinated, they're accused of wanting to jump the queue and of being selfish, taking vaccine from those who are vulnerable.

And if we say we don't think they should be vaccinated sooner, we are accused of being workshy refuseniks.

@MrsHamlet

If a teacher posts about wanting to be vaccinated, they're accused of wanting to jump the queue and of being selfish, taking vaccine from those who are vulnerable.

Yes, and not just teachers, all sorts of people who want to jump the queue get rounded on, and in the same terms for the same reasons.

Teachers are not being treated differently - but one sees more of it because there are so many similar threads

Chosen I agree, us for them will bring out the full force of the unions.

I can't imagine myself joining an organisation to force anyone into un safe working conditions... Everyone should be working as safely as they possibly can, people in factories, supermarkets, police nurses, NHS... Teachers!

I can't imagine the moral ineptitude of actually calling for people to be forced to work where they don't feel safe AND instead of calling for safer conditions... They don't even want the dc to sd or wear masks.

Teachers are also parents, grandparents... Children!

How sick? How morally baron...

As others have said vaccinating teachers isn’t going to mean schools can reopen. Schools were closed because we went to alert level 5- the NHS was going to be overwhelmed.

We need to get transmission down to take pressure off the hospitals. Pressure will also be reduced by getting those most likely to be admitted to hospital or die vaccinated. While there are teachers who are vulnerable due to age or co-morbidities but these should be covered by the existing criteria. We don’t yet know if the vaccine will stop transmission either and as we won’t be vaccinating children there will still be high transmission in schools.

If we open schools too quickly then we will undo the benefits of the lockdown, cases will rise and so the death rate will continue to be high (immunity takes time to build even from the first dose). Unfortunately it takes a lot longer for cases to come down then it does to rise. If we open up too soon we will be starting from a high baseline, cases will be high again much quicker, leading to schools to close again.

A absolutely feel for children, my own child is missing out on so much. I want schools open ASAP in a safe way for teachers and pupils but also parents. But we can’t have children bringing the virus home, not all parents aren’t vulnerable in the same way that not all grandparents are vulnerable. I absolutely want teachers vaccinated ASAP alongside essential retail, police etc but at the moment them jumping the current queue isn’t going to help open schools. We are still under immense pressure at my hospital.

@MrsHamlet

If a teacher posts about wanting to be vaccinated, they're accused of wanting to jump the queue and of being selfish, taking vaccine from those who are vulnerable.

Isnt that exactly what they would be doing though? If any sector is prioritised then another will have to wait longer.

The Data we really need before any further decision on who should be priority is sadly data regarding deaths and hospital admissions. We need to know exactly who's lives are most at risk, after we have vaccinated all CEV. Infection rates amongst school staff may well be high, but is the death rate? we shouldnt be looking at cases to base about vaccination decisions on.

Teachers will be vaccinated when all health and social care workers have been.
Is that the case? Are teachers on the priority list, under the health and social care workers? Are shop staff on it?
I thought teachers were still being vaccinated as part of the general population, so in age related groups.

@LakeGeneva

I kind of get you OP. Other countries, notably Indonesia, have prioritised those who work outside the home as a way of driving down infections. Obviously that includes teachers. But we're not doing that here, so ... 🤷

The priority is to ease pressure on NHS, the people in hospital beds are not the healthy teachers. Therefore they are prioritising those more likely to need hospital treatment. Vaccinating a healthy teacher who would not need hospital treatment wouldn’t stop them passing it onto vulnerable people who would then need treatment.