The Scottish government has ruled out prioritising teachers or any other profession in the next stage of the Covid vaccination process.
The news came of the same day that the EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, launched its Protect Education campaign, which calls for “enhanced safety mitigations” in schools, including Covid vaccinations for staff.
Scotland is, like England, adhering to advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that the focus should remain squarely on vaccinating by age group only and not targeting certain professions. The next priority group will be those aged 40 to 49.
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At the Scottish government’s daily Covid briefing this afternoon, health secretary Jeane Freeman said: “JCVI, of course, looked at a range of risk factors such as occupation, gender, ethnicity and deprivation. But they conclude that - even among groups with a heightened exposure or vulnerability to the virus - age is still the most significant factor.
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“On that basis, the JCVI believe that an age-based approach to vaccination is the quickest and most effective way of protecting the most vulnerable. They also advise that - in logistical terms - it is the most efficient way of rolling out the vaccine to the remaining adult population. And I can confirm that, together with the other governments in the UK, the Scottish government has accepted the JCVI advice.”
Ms Freeman also said: “I understand why some of our professions and our sectoral groups may be disappointed in the JCVI’s advice, but they are crystal clear about where the greatest risk factor lies, and it lies on age.
“It doesn’t lie on the basis of where you work but on how old you are, as well as if you have underlying health conditions or are clinically extremely vulnerable.
“We’re working through those groups - it is the right thing for this government, and indeed the other governments of the UK, to follow that clinical advice.”
She added: “Logistically it also makes significant sense. It is straightforward for us to identify people on the basis of their age through our NHS Scotland highly secure and protected records. It is much more difficult to go through those records and pull out who is a teacher, who works for the police force, who does something else that takes longer.”
The health secretary also said that “in 30 years no government in Scotland has gone against the advice of the JCVI”, and the rationale for the decision was explained further by Scottish national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch (see clip below).
”[The JCVI] have looked at all of the evidence and they’ve decided the safest, risk-based, quickest way to do this is by age band.”
Professor Jason Leitch discusses the JCVI’s advice on taking an aged-based approach to vaccinations in the next phase.
➡️ https://t.co/NxAvhBqYxd pic.twitter.com/pqrYBkNJQn
- BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) February 26, 2021
The EIS has today urged the Scottish government to “Protect Education” - the name of the teaching union’s new campaign - by offering Covid vaccinations to school staff, ensuring improved ventilation in schools to combat the airborne spread of infection, and by providing medical-grade face coverings for use by school staff.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “The announcement today, by the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), recommending that occupational groups should not be prioritised for vaccination, will greatly heighten the concerns of school staff over the safety of working in crowded classrooms without adequate safety mitigations in place.
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“The Scottish government has used its devolved authority in the past to prioritise the vaccination of other groups of vital workers, such as care home staff, and must act now to ensure that all staff in our schools are also properly protected from Covid risk.”
Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray says he thinks teachers will be “disappointed” that they won’t be prioritised for #coronavirus vaccinations.
He thinks the JCVI could have taken a “broader view” on how to prioritise groups.
Updates ➡️ https://t.co/NxAvhBqYxd pic.twitter.com/qjO60sXCYI
- BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) February 26, 2021
Mr Flanagan said the new campaign asks EIS members “to make use of a special online tool to email the first minister [Nicola Sturgeon] to urge the Scottish government to protect education and to protect school staff and the wider community from the potential spread of the virus”.
He added: “Clearly, we want schools to be open and to offer a quality learning environment for our young people - but this must be done safely, with appropriate safety mitigations in place to protect school staff, pupils and their families.”
The EIS campaign will make use of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) online platform Megaphone and use the hashtag #ProtectEducationEIS.
