Chaos as teachers invited for jabs

Hundreds of teachers were invited to receive a coronavirus jab at the weekend after a booking link was sent out “in error”.

Staff in parts of east Kent were offered the opportunity to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Spitfire Cricket Ground in Canterbury.

Upon confirming the message was genuine, they were able to book a slot on an NHS website, selecting ‘teacher’ from the drop-down menu in the process.

But a spokesman for Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “We have been informed that a link for health and care staff to book Covid-19 vaccines has been shared within some schools and via Whatsapp groups.

“The link was shared in error and we are clarifying this through messages to all school leadership teams.” Many staff who turned up on Saturday and Sunday received the jab and were invited to book a follow up appointment in 12 weeks. Appointments then started to be cancelled with an apology issued when staff who had turned up in good faith were turned away.

The priority system in place means the top four priority groups - those aged 70 and above, the clinically extremely vulnerable and frontline health workers - will be offered the jab first, with the Government hoping to vaccinate the almost 15 million in those categories before mid-february.

After that point those from 50 upwards and the clinically vulnerable from 16 to 64 will be offered the jab before the remaining adult population are invited in spring, with teachers and other frontline staff likely to be prioritised at that point.

The vaccine hub at the Spitfire Ground was set up for healthcare workers to get jabs last month. The Gazette understands there have been some problems finding enough staff to fill all the slots available during the clinics. The booking mishap saw some criticise the teachers who took up the offer, but as many pointed out those people did so in good faith. Kelly Walker wrote: “The link sent was to the patient access portal, not a secret Nhs-only link. Once you logged in to the patient access portal and added your job title a message then came up with an invite for you to book an appointment.

“No school staff lied or tried to jump any queues. The website even stated who could book and it included a list with keyworkers and school staff.

“This mistake lies fully with the NHS ICT team who set up the website. It’s sad that it’s being blamed on school staff trying to jump the queue sharing secret websites. Hopefully no vaccines are wasted.” Another said: “There is a lot a of confusion about this error. I was sent the link and signed up. Teachers and teaching staff were on the list on the NHS website. I had a jab... not knowing this was a mistake. Don’t rant at teaching staff, they just did what they were asked to do.” Meanwhile a row rages over whether teachers and other frontline staff should be pushed up the priority list, with the Labour Party among those arguing that they should and that February half-term should be used to vaccinate all teachers and school staff.

Writing in the Gazette this week, Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield says: “Of course, we want our children back in schools, but it must be safe to do so. That is why it is vital all school staff are prioritised for Covid vaccines.”

Care minister and Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately this week stood by the current priority groupings, saying it was based on the advice “to save the most lives.”

The vaccine hub at the Spitfire Ground was set up for healthcare workers