How schools will stay open without priority teacher vaccinations?

[CadburysCrunchie]

I'm not a teacher, but I am wondering how our children's schools will stay open (and we can continue going to work) without teaching staff being given some sort of priority for the covid vaccination?

My child's school has already completely shut for two weeks in November due to rapidly increasing cases, then reopened, and now with 3 days notice is changing to home learning next week due to staff shortages (people being sick, shielding, or having to self-isolate for 2 weeks). The school thinks it is likely the school will have to go to home learning again next term due to all the staff shortages.

If you are not a keyworker so that your child can request to stay in school, how can you go to work outside the home (no home working alternative) if you have no childcare?? What about children who don't have access to a computer etc?

I don't know if this is allowed, but I am going to link to a petition I have seen: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554316 - Admin, please remove this if the link is not allowed.

YABU - You should stop worrying
YANBU - You are right to worry about this.

I have one child in primary, one in secondary and work in a primary school. You are absolutely right, and teachers and support staff working in schools absolutely should be high up on the priority list. Keeping schools open, and kids in them, should be very high up on the government’s agenda. Kids who have missed out on half a year’s education and all that goes with it, (social contact, play and for many children, their only hot meal of the day), suffered so much during the national lockdown, and it can’t happen again. The amount of work we are trying to put into supporting these kids is huge.

Being vaccinated hasn't been proven to prevent transmission or getting infected. Therefore, I'd imagine you'd still have to isolate if you were infected.

But absolutely on health grounds though.

I don’t get why parents aren’t more angry with the shoddy job the DfE have done.

Teachers should be prioritised because that is the only way we can keep ALL schools open.

The government really doesn’t give a shit about children or their education. They just took the easy route- do bugger all and hope it works out okay. It hasn’t.

Its ok, no need to worry, teachers are immune and schools don't spread Covid. It's probably just an excuse for the work-shy staff to get extra holiday...

/sarcasm

My school won't even tell staff which children have tested positive out of the lists of 80+ pupils who are self isolating. I mean they did draw a box around our desks with masking tape so clearly that's enough. No consideration how we can actually do our jobs, help pupils who are stuck etc without us leaving or pupils entering said box.
The great irony of SLT having "Learning Walks" last week and criticising staff who didn't 'interact with pupils enough'.
The last 3 positive results in pupils were framed to staff as 'if you have broken the risk assessment then talk to the HT who will judge if you have put yourself at risk...'

DS's primary have had no teachers off since they went back in September. We are tier 3. Only 2 cases of Covid in pupils and they were both before October half term, we haven't had any cases for several weeks.

There seems to be a big difference in schools, I'm seeing all over MN schools on their knees but that hasn't been the case for us. So I'm not too concerned on a personal level, although I'm aware things could change. I do work outside the home and I do think that teachers should have priority for the vaccination but I don't see what difference it will make regarding attendance if students aren't getting vaccinated, they will all still have to isolate every time a student tests positive.

@lucidnightmare

That is shocking. It is almost impossible to teach my bottom set GCSE group from behind the screen. They need extra help and explanation. We’re not robots.

I love how it’s our fault the virus is spreading in schools and not the bloody government.

Perhaps they are seeking herd immunity amongst education staff? Three quarters of my dept gave been infected and about half the school staff.

No action has been taken to reduce Infections in schools and in fact asking schools to do contact tracing has made things worse since September.

We may also provide useful data on the possibility time between reinfection.

It depends on the priority and some teachers may not want it anyway.

Teachers shouldn’t be given priority just because they are teachers.

Imo teachers moan and moan about being exposed when so many other professions are also exposed to COVID risks and often even more so.

As a teacher you interact with mostly the same group of students, retail workers/shop workers are exposed to a greater pool of people all who are more likely to have Covid than young students.

Here we go again!

I agree that teachers should be on the priority list for vaccination. Yes it doesn't stop the spread but it stops them actually getting it. This is beneficial for both their health and for the continuity of education due not having to constantly draft in supply teachers.

I’m nhs and I agree that my education colleagues should be prioritised, however there’s no sign at all of us NHS workers being given this vaccine in the near future either.

Seems to me that rolling out the pfeizer vaccine to the over 80s was just a bit of political point scoring with Europe.

It’s all gone a bit quiet. How many are being vaccinated each day?

Countess My Dad has just told me he's getting vaccinated next week at their local, small, hospital. He's 90 and my DPs have been shielding religiously since before the first lockdown. It's great.

I’m nhs and I agree that my education colleagues should be prioritised, however there’s no sign at all of us NHS workers being given this vaccine in the near future either. I know two nhs workers who are being vaccinated this week....

Reality is that everyone is going to come up with a reason as to why they should be prioritised. And it’s already been seen as acceptable to do a bit of age bashing on these boards saying that the elderly shouldn’t be vaccinated because they’re going to die anyway etc.

People who are bleating on about who should and shouldn’t be prioritised are spectacularly missing the point of vaccination. When someone is vaccinated it’s not just for their benefit, it’s for the benefit of society. The elderly and the most vulnerable are being vaccinated first because those are the demographic most likely to develop complications and end up in hospital. The more people end up in hospital with COVID, the less hospital beds are available for other patients with different medical conditions.

Most people under the age of 50 won’t end up in hospital, and certainly it will only be a tiny proportion compared to the elderly, and as such they are lower down the priority list.

These decisions are made by experts whose life’s work it is to know about these things, not by petition wielding randoms on the internet.

At the age of 26 and with no underlying health conditions I would feel quite bad getting vaccinated before people who are more likely to get very unwell.

The majority of teachers I know wouldn't want the vaccine right now, as they believe there are people who need it more. I agree with them.

Also several nhs staff have been vaccinated in my local hospital, my mum included so nhs are also getting prioritised.

@Yoshinori

Teachers shouldn’t be given priority just because they are teachers.

Imo teachers moan and moan about being exposed when so many other professions are also exposed to COVID risks and often even more so.

As a teacher you interact with mostly the same group of students, retail workers/shop workers are exposed to a greater pool of people all who are more likely to have Covid than young students.

I've not had to look after a shop worker in my office for 4.5 hours whilst waiting for somebody to come and pick them up because they've got a cough + temperature and Mum says it's 'just the cold my other children had last week, they were back in school the following day'.

The great irony of SLT having "Learning Walks" last week and criticising staff who didn't 'interact with pupils enough'.

I expect a lot of staff are considering leaving? That's absolutely disgusting.

@Yoshinori

Teachers shouldn’t be given priority just because they are teachers.

Imo teachers moan and moan about being exposed when so many other professions are also exposed to COVID risks and often even more so.

As a teacher you interact with mostly the same group of students, retail workers/shop workers are exposed to a greater pool of people all who are more likely to have Covid than young students.

Retail workers will not have the same kind of prolonged exposure as teachers, generally speaking.

Signed the petition. I work in a hospital but I reckon teachers are at higher risk of exposure than my department! I think teachers should be high priority. Not so sure about nursery teachers little kids don't get it often

YABU all we know about the vaccine is that it reduces covid-19 symptoms. We don't know how long it will last ( 6 months 12 months, ... ) or if the vaccinated person will transmit the virus.

...also shop workers and the shoppers around them are wearing masks.

To be honest, there a long list of establishments that are more important to keep open than schools. Such as care homes / hospitals / dentists / vets / prisons / supermarkets / food manufacturing and distribution / public transport serving hospitals etc....

My friend is a Learning Support Mentor in a 2 form entry primary school.
Since September, due to staff shortages etc she has been in 11 different class rooms, she tells me each class has at least 27 children in each..
Go figure that one...