Can teachers get a coronavirus vaccine?

11 January 2021, 11:16

According to reports, teachers will be considered for the next vaccination wave.

The UK vaccine rollout is well-underway, with the NHS currently offering the jab to people aged 80 and over, those who live or work in care homes, and health and social care workers at high risk.

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There have been calls for teachers to be considered for the next stage, and a new report from Sky News has claimed that they may be next in line to receive the jab.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the group advising on the vaccine rollout, has said that - while no decisions have been made on the second wave of vaccine rollout - the 'critical role' played by teachers would 'figure in the discussions'.

He said: "As you can appreciate these considerations start to be social values in a way more than the criteria we normally use, which is pressure on the health service."

And when asked about the position of teachers, he said: "I can't predict exactly what will be prioritised but I can say that we will be discussing this and coming up with a plan, and I can also say that when it comes to teachers I think we all appreciate the critical role that they all play and so that really will figure in the discussions."

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Professor Finn is part of a committee has been tasked with coming up with a plan by mid-February on who should receive the vaccine next.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in the House of Commons last week that teachers "have got a very strong case" to be prioritised for jabs "once we have vaccinated those who are clinically vulnerable".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock recently revealed that 200,000 people are getting vaccinated each day, and that the government is "on course" to reach its target of two million a week.

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