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.

The decision on the order to vaccinate is based on clinical need. Vaccinating the over 50s and the clinically vulnerable reduces hospital admissions and deaths by 99%. This then realeases NHS resources, beds etc., for other patients e.g. cancer, routine operations etc. This also enables restrictions to be lifted as quickly as possible.

Prioritising the vaccination of teachers who are under age 50 and not clinically vulnerable will have little impact on deaths and hospital admissions. This will see restrictions being required for far longer.

Covid 19 will not be eradicated, we will have to learn to live with it, like measles, chickenpox, Polio etc.

Tingtastic- you seem to be forgetting that staff who work in the places you mention rely on schools for childcare.

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..

Secondary teacher here. I've been in more than 11 rooms last week!

Being vaccinated hasn't been proven to prevent transmission or getting infected

So what is the point in it then? Have I missed the point of the vaccine? What is it 95% effective against?

@LyndaLaHughes

Tingtastic- you seem to be forgetting that staff who work in the places you mention rely on schools for childcare.

And you seem to forget that not all the teachers in all the schools will be isolating at the same time. So we can revert to key worker bubbles if it came to it...

It always amazes me that the arguments about
child welfare
child mental health and wellbeing
being the child's only meal of the day
Protecting children from abuse
Parents needing school so that they can work

etc. etc.

Disappear when it is suggested that teachers should get something that would help all of the above

Yes I totally think teachers and school staff should be in the key worker priority section of the list. It's madness. Especially secondary school teachers and staff - start with those.

My MIL is NHS admin and she's getting it next week. She has zero contact with patients and only a handful of staff. Teachers (and thousands of other people) need it before her.

Biggest joke is a social worker who works 'in our school' hasn't had any face to face meetings this term got the vaccine. Explain why they need it?

@tempnamechange98765 that surprises me about your MIL. I work in health and social care and only frontline workers are getting priority. No thought to the fact that without the "back room" staff then the organisation can't run and our service users are very vulnerable.

Vaccinating by the current priority list is estimated to prevent >95% of deaths and countless admissions.

The petition you link does not say where it thinks occupational groups should be placed on the priority list. Is it calling for teachers to go ahead of the vulnerable?

And ignores that there is a debate in Parliament already scheduled for 14 December.

The most recent thing I read was suggesting (in a similar sort of way to 'news by leaking' that has characterised announcements) that it the u50s can be prioritised by category and the groups likely to be at the top are: emergency service first responders, social workers, teachers, those in key roles in criminal justice system (including prisons), armed forces engaged in or on standby for pandemic response

Listen to More or Less on BBC R4 where real statistician crunch real numbers. I forget the exact numbers but when the over 70s are vaccinated the deaths become vanishingly small and it deaths and hospitalisations that are critical, not cases. All teachers are in the younger categories -if they are over 70 and still teaching they probably have exceptional immune systems anyway.

@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.

Wow! You really have no idea do you? Yes, other professions are forced to confront the public everyday and put themselves at risk but I really wish I could show you a picture of what us ‘lazy moaning’ teachers have to go through everyday so the general public can go on working! We are in rooms probably not much bigger than your lounge, with 32 different children, 5 times a day! Have you ever tried socially distancing in these circumstances?! Bear in mind that even with the relaxed rules for five days over Xmas, you are allowed to mix inside with ‘3’ other households ONLY. Us ‘moaning’ teachers are allowed to mix (in my case) with about 600-700 other households every single day! The only profession that I can think of who are more at risk here are those that work in hospitals, care homes and such like- you know- the ones who ARE being prioritised for the vaccine. We don’t want special treatment! We just want an acknowledgment that we are at risk and it would be nice to feel we will be looked after!

Depends which vaccine you are talking about?

Because this one isn't for everyone. Cannot have it if your TTC, pregnant or breastfeeding, had an allergic reaction to foods or medication. The company advice not to be taken with other medication.

Only reduces the symptoms if you get Covid, so will still need time off and who knows, maybe Long CV as well,. Regardless of how mild the symptoms are you still have to SI because no-one knows if you can still pass it on,

So erm how will this help keep schools open? And even more so when those under 16's are still passing it around anyway?

I work in health and social care and only frontline workers are getting priority. No thought to the fact that without the "back room" staff then the organisation can't run and our service users are very vulnerable

Some PCTs have given priority to some key management, admin and support roles - the ones where they believe there would be significant detriment or halting of services if too many staff were off. A new postcode lottery?

I really can't think of an occupation or age group that I couldn't make an argument for needing to be a priority.

Glad it's not my decision.

This thread wasn't started by a teacher claiming they need priority, but by a parent who is worried that she might not be able to work as too many teachers are having to isolate! I don't know of many teacher who would claim they deserve priority over elderly/vulnerable people.

Can you think of any occupation that doesn't already have mitigation measures in place to reduce their risk of getting covid?

If you don't want us to get the vaccine, then you should at least want us to get funding for ventilation, priority testing, masks in secondary classrooms.

I wouldn’t worry, I work in healthcare seeing patients face to face but I’m not getting it either cause I’m not on a ward and the PCN can’t decide who’s paying for it for me?! Apparently I should just do it over the phone instead!!!?!?! 🙄

@noblegiraffe

Can you think of any occupation that doesn't already have mitigation measures in place to reduce their risk of getting covid?

If you don't want us to get the vaccine, then you should at least want us to get funding for ventilation, priority testing, masks in secondary classrooms.

I agree but for some reason there are posters that can't stand the thought of teachers getting anything that would protect them.

There isn’t the ability if the doses available to vaccinate everyone who would benefit from it in the first tranche before spring. There simply isn’t enough to go round, especially as other countries need it too. Those who think teachers should be prioritised, who on the priority list would you bump off in favour of teachers? Because that’s what would have to happen, one group would have to be pushed off the lot in order for teachers to be added in.

I don't expect to be above the elderly. I do expect to be on a priority under 50 list.

I'm over 60 so will get there before you😁

@Mousehole10

There isn’t the ability if the doses available to vaccinate everyone who would benefit from it in the first tranche before spring. There simply isn’t enough to go round, especially as other countries need it too. Those who think teachers should be prioritised, who on the priority list would you bump off in favour of teachers? Because that’s what would have to happen, one group would have to be pushed off the lot in order for teachers to be added in.

This is a very goady comment. No one is saying teachers should 'bump' anyone off the priority list. But surely they should be considered for a high priority in the second phase?

@spanieleyes

This thread wasn't started by a teacher claiming they need priority, but by a parent who is worried that she might not be able to work as too many teachers are having to isolate! I don't know of many teacher who would claim they deserve priority over elderly/vulnerable people.

There have been numerous threads on MN where teachers have done just that. As has already been pointed out, vaccination is aimed at keeping those most likely to need hospitalisation for ARDS out of acute hospital beds. It’s not about handing out vaccines based on virtue. Get the vulnerable vaccinated first along with those who are caring for them.

Yabu, as the priority has to be to vaccinate those who are the most clinically vulnerable. Healthcare staff, and care home staff, are only being vaccinated as a priority in order to protect those at greatest risk.

Who would you have wait for their vaccine, in order to prioritise school staff who aren't clinically vulnerable? I would support having key workers having the vaccine as a priority within their age/risk group, but not to the detriment of vaccinating the elderly/extremely clinically vulnerable.