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.

Could you get the title changed so people know there's a petition who want to sign

@BerriesAndPineCones

Could you get the title changed so people know there's a petition who want to sign

Perhaps people can forward the petition link to their school headteacher, so that teaching staff can also sign the petition? By the way it is not my petition, so I have no influence on the language / particular outcomes sought by the petition linked to.

Not sure if I've understood, but I meant could you mention there's a petition in the title of this thread rather than could you change the title of the original petition

What difference will a teacher having the vaccine actually make (other than to their own peace of mind) - the children will still spread it amongst themselves, class bubbles will still be sent home if a pupil tests positive, it won't prevent a teacher having to stay at home if their own child is having to self isolate nor will it make them immune from self isolating if they come into contact with a positive case outside of the classroom (given that there is no actual data yet on how effective the vaccine is at preventing transmission). A teacher being vaccinated bares no relevance on the current schooling situation, there will still be staff shortages.

What difference will a teacher having the vaccine actually make (other than to their own peace of mind)

It would prevent them from being exposed to a potentially serious/fatal and now avoidable risk in the course of their work.

How would the vaccine help though when they can still get CV and still have to SI because it's still unknown if they can pass it?

Plus there will be those teachers who cannot have the vaccine walking around with the under 16's.

Because most of the teachers are under 65 (under 60 in fact) and therefore the chances of them getting seriously ill/dying with Covid is negligible.

It doesnt really matter if lots of teachers get it, I mean its disruptive in the short term but it won't bring the NHS to its knees.

Absolutely. Fuck the elderly and the cev, lets have teachers as the priority because a teacher possibly being ill is a far worse risk factor than people that will merely die or fill hospitals, meaning other people die or become severely ill.
I can see some logic in doing age groups by risk factor, but even then teaching doesn't exactly stand out as the riskiest career.

The whole point of phase one is to reduce the hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths. The experts have studied this, and by prioritising the groups put forward for the first round, they believe this is the quickest way to bring these numbers down.
My friend who is a doctor in a COVID ward hasn't been offered it yet. I think she should be before teachers in queue personally.
Whilst I agree that teachers need the vaccine, there are simply not enough supplies to go round. Be patient. It is coming.
Remember back in March when we thought we wouldn't get a vaccine for possibly many years? Well, who would have thought we would be in the position we are in now...
it all takes time.

The list is comprised of the most clinically vulnerable to the disease and the carers of those people. Where are you proposing teachers fit? Some teachers will be In those vulnerable groups. If they’re not then no they shouldn’t be prioritised over those who are. Should teachers be prioritised over other under 50s without the occupational risk yes I think that’s a sensible idea.

It would prevent them from being exposed to a potentially serious/fatal and now avoidable risk in the course of their work.

Its statistically terrifically unlikely to be serious/fatal in the working age population. Just have a look at the statistics. Please.

@TheYearOfSmallThings

What difference will a teacher having the vaccine actually make (other than to their own peace of mind)

It would prevent them from being exposed to a potentially serious/fatal and now avoidable risk in the course of their work.

What, because a 20/30 something teacher is at severe risk?? If a teacher falls into a priority category then they will get the vaccine regardless of profession.

but even then teaching doesn't exactly stand out as the riskiest career.

Data isn't backing you up here.

Teaching is so risky they had to fiddle the data to make it look like it isn’t.

A secondary colleague caught COVID from a pupil, along with several other pupils in the class. Luckily she only had a mild case, unlike her mother who lives with her. She is now in intensive care. Given the surge in cases within schools, this is not going to be the only case.

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.

No, the amount of time spent is key and the masks protect retail workers. Supermarkets are not closing due to shortages of staff. Teachers don't have those protections so they should get the vaccination to keep schools open. HTH

I know a teacher who caught it in April and still can’t return to work. A colleague has been off for weeks. It’s pretty disruptive to children’s education when teachers get it - even mildly it’s way longer than sick teachers normally take off. Schools rely on teachers working when sick and now they can’t.

Same way prisons have kept running, police services still continue, social care, courts, etc, all of whom have consistent daily unmasked contact with elements of the population who aren't known to be rule abiders, some of whom are; Street homeless, living in hostels, still sharing needles, and selling their bodies for sex, never mind social distancing and hand washing. Prisons are absolutely rife with it and if those services collapse then the public will be at risk, but they won't because those services have contributed face to face throughout and will continue to do so despite more than a decade of cuts and government interference, that have left s lot of them already on their needs and stripped to the bone.

The clinically vulnerable, elderly, and those who care for them of course must be the priority, not teachers. MN is like another universe sometimes.

Vaccines need to be prioritised by clinical need, so either they or someone they care for is at risk of death or very serious illness. If teachers get priority others will die waiting.

Absolutely. Fuck the elderly and the cev
Can you quote where anyone has said teachers should be above elderly and cev please. Thanks

Have you read the petition at all? It isn't about teachers getting priority over the clinically vulnerable or elderly. It's about teachers being one of the priority categories in phase 2, when the vaccine is given to the " general public"

@AldiAisleofCrap

Vaccines need to be prioritised by clinical need, so either they or someone they care for is at risk of death or very serious illness. If teachers get priority others will die waiting.

It was clarified part way through the thread that OP intended debate to be about prioritisation after all CEV, CV, HCP/care home and over 50s have had the opportunity.

The link JCVI suggestions on occupational groups who would benefit from prioritisation (once all the first priority list has been done) has also been linked, and teachers are in their recommendations

But, as they said - whether to prioritise by occupation, and which if any of the selected groups to include, is a political decision

Sorry @Hercwasonaroll, I must have missed the data showing teachers were hospitalised or even died in greater proportions than health staff, carers, bus drivers etc.

I don't disagree that if it was practical to do age groups by job risk teachers should be there alongside shop staff, factory workers, vets, essential services that don't allow for distancing, some drivers etc, just not prioritised above and beyond.

And if we were actually prioritising age groups by job after the nhs and carers, I'd put zero hour workers, nmw and not entitled to sick pay etc at the front, as they are the least likely to be in a position to isolate, thus most likely to spread it.

I must have missed the data showing teachers were hospitalised or even died in greater proportions than health staff, carers, bus drivers etc.

The government are refusing to publish this data. They did it for lockdown 1 in May but not this time around.