Campaign reply - Teachers and the COVID-19 vaccine

Thank you to everyone who has written to me regarding prioritising teachers for a Covid vaccine.

I do understand your concerns, like you I also wish to see all children back in face to face education as soon as possible.
 
We have now started the rollout of the Oxford University / AstraZeneca vaccine across the UK, protecting the most vulnerable and saving thousands of lives. On Monday 4 January, the NHS began administering the first doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine –with 530,000 ready to be deployed and 100 million doses secured in total. The UK was the first country in the world to procure and authorise the Oxford vaccine, and we are the first country in the world to start a vaccination programme using this vaccine.
 
We have already delivered over 1.3million vaccine doses across the UK, with 1,000 vaccine sites set to be up and running by the end of the week. Hundreds of new sites are opening at hospitals and in the community this week in the new phase of the vaccination programme, the largest in NHS history. This is on top of the 700 which were already open and vaccinating, and now also includes General Practice led services, making it easier to protect care home residents and other vulnerable people against COVID-19.
 
The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are responsible for advising UK Health Departments on vaccination scheduling.  They advise that the first priorities for the current COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Secondary priorities could include vaccination of those at increased risk of hospitalisation and at increased risk of exposure, and to maintain resilience in essential public services.
 
Given the current epidemiological situation in the UK, the best option for preventing morbidity and mortality in the initial phase of the programme is to directly protect persons most at risk of morbidity and mortality, these include age and underlying critical health conditions.
 
The Government are closely considering the priority for the second phase of the roll-out which will likely include teaching staff and other groups who could be classed as at risk of exposure to Covid-19 through their occupation.  However, the schedule for vaccinations is decided by the JCVI and not Government.
 
You can read the full JCVI advice in the document below:
 
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950113/jcvi-advice-on-priority-groups-for-covid-19-vaccination-30-dec-2020-revised.pdf
 
From Monday 11 January the Government will produce daily vaccination updates and the full deployment package.  The armed forces have been drafted in to help deliver the vaccination programme and whilst there is no denying this is a mammoth task, I firmly believe we are on track to deliver these vaccines in a timely and efficient manner.
 
If there is anything further I can do to help, please do not hesitate to contact me.