'Game changer' Covid jabs to be given to some schools in Nottinghamshire

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? One of the biggest talking-points in education right now is whether teachers and other school staff should be a priority group for the COVID jab.Workers in many special schools are now beginning to get letters of invitation asking them to book an appointment. Nottinghamshire County Council today became the latest local authority to go down that route after heavy lobbying from local headteachers. It's not official Government policy, but special schools are seen by many as having a crossover between education and healthcare.In mainstream education, though, prioritising school staff for the vaccine is far more contentious. The science is hotly debated, the statistics open to interpretation.

Government advisors insist school workers are no more at risk of being infected with the virus, or of dying from it, than other professions. Teaching unions disagree and claim they have evidence from schools of higher infection rates than in the population as a whole.It's a key issue because supporters of vaccination see it as vital in getting schools fully open. By giving staff more protection, they argue, schools will be safer places to work, and there won't be as much disruption to children's learning.The Government says its chief aim is to get 15 million vulnerable people immunised by mid-February. We'll have to see whether school staff are given priority after that.Some are concerned that prioritising schools could mean others missing out. With vaccine supply still an issue, ministers may feel that inviting all staff to get the jab is for now a step too far.