The Liberal Democrats have called for teachers to be vaccinated
against coronavirus after the government admitted schools were
the epicentre of high community transmission.
, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, has
written a letter to and
to ask them to vaccinate teachers as part of category
seven.
This would make them a top priority after everyone working in the
NHS and social care and those most at risk by virtue of their
age, being clinically vulnerable or having an underlying health
condition.
It comes as the Secretary of State for Education announced that
teachers' estimated grades will replace GCSE and A-level results.
, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education, said:
"Teachers and school staff have put themselves at enormous risk
during this pandemic in order to keep schools open.
"Now that the Prime Minister has finally admitted that schools
are at the epicentre of high community Covid transmission,
teachers must be given priority access to the Covid vaccine.
"But vaccinating teachers on its own won’t be enough to re-open
schools safely. To reduce transmission among pupils and their
families, the government must review how pupil 'bubbles' should
work, ensure every school has its own single-school transport,
and that the schools Covid testing programme is fit for purpose.
"We welcome the fact that teachers' estimated grades will replace
GCSE and A-level results but this decision could have been made
sooner and would have avoided undue stress and worry."
