Study this graph closely... why aren't all staff in all educational settings, UK wide, being classed as a priority group?

[BuenoN0ches]

How are our children going to be able to resume their education before this year is up when it was the reopening of schools that caused this gigantic wave?

You will see that numbers steadily increased when schools reopened in September to all students.

How are our children going to resume their education when we can't seem to get this disease under proper control?

Is there meant to be an image with your post? I can't see one.

Because as yet the vaccine isn't proven to limit transmission. It's there to protect and reduce deaths. So the most vulnerable go first.

Here are the numbers that helped them work out the priority

'if you give 20 people in a care home a dose of vaccine, you’ll save a life,” he said. “If you give 160 people in their 80s a dose of vaccine, you’ll save a life. But once you get down to people in their 60s, you’re up to more than 1,000. If you go down to teachers or policemen, you’re approaching one in 50,000.'

Why would prioritise a young healthy teacher over an older, Vulnerable person?

Can’t see a chart but you do realise that viruses naturally become more prevalent in the winter? Plus the new strain (that started in September) is much more prevalent?

Anyway, even if a lot of transmission was in schools then staff would only be a small proportion. Are you suggesting vaccinating children (or children’s households) too?

They are not on the first priority list because 95% of deaths were people over 60

The teachers over 60 or clinically vulnerable are on the list already

Teachers will probably be on the next list with keyworkers. So lets stop making these threads and having the same argument over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again

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Even if they had vaccinated teachers first, they would have still needed to shut the schools because of pupil-to-pupil transmission. They didn't shut the schools for the teachers' safety. Vaccinating teachers won't help kids get back into school quicker.

We didn't just open the schools though. Everything opened. Every pub, cafe etc I passed if a day was full of people 65+. The evidence shows that factories and warehouses are hotspots. Those younger people were then mixing and still going to their Nan's for Sunday dinner. The wave in September was helped by August 'eat out to help out'.

We need to reopen the primary schools and keep other venues closed. Then we'll get a clearer picture. Other countries aren't showing that primary schools are an infection source.

@Ponoka7

We didn't just open the schools though. Everything opened. Every pub, cafe etc I passed if a day was full of people 65+. The evidence shows that factories and warehouses are hotspots. Those younger people were then mixing and still going to their Nan's for Sunday dinner. The wave in September was helped by August 'eat out to help out'.

We need to reopen the primary schools and keep other venues closed. Then we'll get a clearer picture. Other countries aren't showing that primary schools are an infection source.

Agree with you but the poster asked about teachers being priority for vaccination

They are vaccinating teachers in the US for this reason

The "gigantic wave" was not due to schools reopening.

By far the biggest jump in cases in September was due to Higher Education students suddenly living in close quarters and socialising together. You only had to look at any University town or city and see the case rates at council ward level. In my city most wards had less then 30 new cases per week, but the three wards where students live (which had the same rate through the first week of September) suddenly jumped to a minimum of 300 new cases per week.

@TingTastic

Can’t see a chart but you do realise that viruses naturally become more prevalent in the winter? Plus the new strain (that started in September) is much more prevalent?

Anyway, even if a lot of transmission was in schools then staff would only be a small proportion. Are you suggesting vaccinating children (or children’s households) too?

All of this plus the vulnerability information as well.

I'm in a key job and have been at work the whole time, still seeing people, many of whom can't or won't distance. I still think care homes and older people should be in front of me.

Vaccinating school staff won't help to limit transmission; all it might do is to protect those staff members, but the Government don't give two shits about that.
I'm a teacher and quite happy to wait my turn in the normal run, according to my age and perceived vulnerability.

Because the numbers started to go up in the summer holidays when schools weren't open?

Because the vast majority of teachers arent at risk, especially when compared with care givers, social workers, supermarket staff, delivery drivers etc

Because any teachers that are CEV will be on the current JCVI list anyway.

Because there are other jobs where you really are at more risk, Police for example who are regularly spat at and have to come within 2 meters of folk as part of the course because it's really hard to arrest folk from a distance.

Because the ONS has clearly stated that teachers arent at more risk

Because the union just came out and dismissed claims that teachers should be vaccinated over half term in a hissy fit that academies and private schools offered to do it.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9205275/Union-snubs-jabs-teachers-Hardline-bosses-accused-waging-class-war.html

If teachers are moved up the priority list for vaccination then I hope that there is an agreement between teachers, the unions and the government that this means that schools will re-open and teachers will return to the classroom. If this won't be the case or if it will be a situation where still pupils only return part time and it's all a mess then teachers can wait there turn with the rest of us and schools will have to open later.

@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum

They are not on the first priority list because 95% of deaths were people over 60

The teachers over 60 or clinically vulnerable are on the list already

Teachers will probably be on the next list with keyworkers. So lets stop making these threads and having the same argument over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Yep this gets brought up many times a day, getting boring now. The answer is this.

@2021vision Teachers being vaccinated won’t speed up schools returning, because we are not putting the NHS under massive pressure. Lots of teachers are young and those who aren’t, or are CV, will be picked up in the other groups.
Teachers being vaccinated also won’t have that much of an impact on the numbers, because children will still spread it to their families.
Schools can’t rely on teachers being vaccinated to open.
I think teachers should be vaccinated with other public facing key workers once the current groups are done, but saying we will vaccinate teachers to get schools open is basically a political thing, and won’t really make schools much safer in terms of community transmissions

Even if they had vaccinated teachers first, they would have still needed to shut the schools because of pupil-to-pupil transmission. They didn't shut the schools for the teachers' safety. Vaccinating teachers won't help kids get back into school quicker.

This - there's no point vaccinating teachers when the issue is the children sitting next to each other all day & taking germs home.

I've not heard any teachers saying they want a vaccine earlier than they should get it.

Schools closing was never about teachers - more about limiting student transmissions.

The only chart I've seen (not here) shows teachers are no more likely to get covid than the general public. Our school has it's own rapid test machine so can test anyone with symptoms. All out sidewall be tested twice before returning (not with the machine) and the machine will help if anyone develops symptoms afterwards. So far only ibe child has tested positive and only five kids had to isolate (this was obviously before current lockdown). The school has very strict measures in place since they went back in June last year and in September and this has helped.
Meanwhile, as recently as last week the head of a&e at our local hospital hadn't been vaccinated....

Vaccinating teachers doesn’t address community transmission , children passing it between each other or to their own families and teachers passing it on to their own families.
It only protects teachers so other than staff absence , which does impact on schools opening it doesn’t do much more to reopen schools in a safer way.

I strongly believe that once the majority of vaccinations on the current vulnerable lists are compete, then the focus should switch from ‘saving lives’ to vaccinating to ‘open lives up again’. In my mind this means vaccinating public-facing public sector workers like police and teachers to protect them from the worse effects of long-covid and let them work with less time off work for illness.

It might have a marginal affect on community transmission or death counts but at least it is the start of preparing to open up schools and essential services to all again.

I am a teacher and so is DH. In my nursery school no child has seen a speech therapist or health visitor face to face since March. Those professionals are now getting their vaccines, however they will still be unable to make visits to children as we don't know about transmission.
6 members of staff have had covid. One of these was directly linked to case in school (she sat with child whilst waiting for her to be collected because of a cough). Staff member passed it to family, one of them died last week.

Our local council is offering the vaccine to anyone who usually makes home visits (again, many of these have not been home visiting and have no plans to restart. Last week as part of my safeguarding role I made a home visit to check on a vulnerable child - I can't have a vaccine because I am a teacher. My asthmatic husband goes into school 4 days a week where up 21 out of his usual class are in.

If there is enough vaccine for people who are not working front line then there should be enough for teachers.

@2021vision

If teachers are moved up the priority list for vaccination then I hope that there is an agreement between teachers, the unions and the government that this means that schools will re-open and teachers will return to the classroom. If this won't be the case or if it will be a situation where still pupils only return part time and it's all a mess then teachers can wait there turn with the rest of us and schools will have to open later.

Since when are teachers not in the classroom? I think you'll find they are in school teaching key worker and vulnerable children every day.

Ok then if vaccinating them doesn't mean opening schools then they shouldn'be be a priority. Has there been any criteria set for schools to re-open e.g once all the over 70's and CEV have been vaccinated? This is what we need something which outlines what needs to be in place for schools to open fulltime with teaching staff in place.

The virus thrives in the cold.
It concerns me over which period they collect this data, because you would need to collect data over the winter month's, Windows shut and actually in most places it was mild in the run up to Xmas. I absolutely dread to think what would have happened, if they had not shut the school in January!!