Union calls for teachers to be prioritised for coronavirus vaccine

NASUWT The Teachers' Union is calling for teachers to be given the anti-Covid jab sooner rather than later to ensure both education staff and pupils can return to classrooms.

It says it will allow children in Essex and the rest of the country to receive the best education, while allowing parents to focus on their own work.

Keith Anderson, regional organiser at NASUWT, said: "We believe that teachers and educational staff should be given as a priority to having the vaccine, so we can get them back into school and students back into school. So we can continue with the very important task of education.

"It also means parents can continue to be able to work in whatever arrangement they've got. If they have to be in a work place then they will know their students are going to be safe in school."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said ministers will decide on who will be prioritised in the next phase once they receive research into how successfully the vaccine reduces transmission.

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