Should teachers get the jab before the elderly so schools can reopen?

I APPLAUD Sarah Vine’s excellent article on why schools should not be closed. I’ve had a mild case of Covid and am due to have the vaccination by mid-February, but I would be prepared to shield for longer if teachers could be vaccinated as a priority so children could go back to school. Dr ROSEMARY ROBERTS,

Broadstone, Dorset. WELL done, Sarah Vine, whose article on the welfare of the next generation was spot on. I am 75, classed as vulnerable, but will self-isolate for as long as necessary if my family of workers in retail, social care, teaching and the NHS can be vaccinated first. A. MASON, South Cave, E. Yorks. I RESPECT Sarah Vine’s view that no one gets a second childhood and it’s unpleasant to curtail education and social mixing. However, no one gets a second chance at old age and the elderly have fewer years to enjoy with friends and family. Children have years to level things out. MARTYN WHITFIELD,

Willerby, E. Yorks. I CAN’T agree more with Sarah Vine. Two of my

grandchildren are facing cancelled GGSEs and A-levels. Though I look forward to receiving the vaccine and the peace of mind it offers, I’d happily wait a little longer if it meant teachers could be protected to get them back to work and give our children a better future. This in hand, with the regular testing of older students, should keep schools open.

MARGARET McKERROW, Purley, Surrey. SARAH VINE says: ‘No one gets a second childhood, why must they pay the price for the virus?’ No one gets a second life and we are all paying the price for this virus. We need to work together and make sacrifices to get through this awful pandemic.

ROBERT DEWAR, Beeford, E. Yorks. I AGREE with Sarah Vine’s mother. I would rather teachers be vaccinated before me if it meant schools could be reopened. Children don’t tend to get very ill with Covid, but they can spread it, which has been shown by the big increase in the infection rate since schools reopened in September. My nine-year-old granddaughter tested positive just before Christmas. She had no symptoms and the positive result only came to light because her family is part of the Office for National Statistics survey and are tested monthly. The rest of her family were negative, so she could only have been infected in school.

H. PEARSON, Coxhoe, Co. Durham. IT IS a misreading of the situation to claim ‘the priority has been protecting the elderly and the vulnerable from the worst effects of the disease’.

The priority is protecting the NHS. Our politicians want to avoid at all cost scenes of elderly or frail Covid patients being turned away from hospitals. We need more doctors, nurses and care workers.

D. McCARTER, Hillsborough, Co. Down. I’VE had my first jab, but think my second dose should be offered to a member of the fire service, police, NHS or other essential services.

J. D. WILLIAMS, Enfield, North London. I AM fed up with the pampered younger generation. I am sorry that exams have been put on hold, but sometimes you have to endure sacrifices for the benefit of others.