1,000 signatures reached
To: Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education
Vaccinate ALL teachers against COVID-19
Prioritise COVID-19 vaccination of ALL frontline teachers and support staff working face to face with children in schools, including those working in early years childcare and nursery settings.
Why is this important?
Teachers and support staff in schools are vital to the continued education of our children but they are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because they have to work face to face with students.
Vaccination will not only help protect teachers from the virus, it will allow them to teach in person, and ultimately keep schools open to the benefit of the children, their parents and wider society.
Unlike for other professions, including GPs, careworkers, hairdressers and shop workers who are required to wear masks or be behind protective screens, the government is not recommending face coverings are necessary in education settings (except in corridors and communal areas)
Many colleagues have already been infected with the virus affecting their health AND leaving already overstretched staff to cover whole classes or send classes home.
Safeguarding the future of the next generation should start with those who are delivering their education. Please don't scapegoat teachers any more than has already happened and consider vaccinating teachers and other education and childcare workers who have been on the frontline of COVID from the very start.
