Teachers have ‘good call’ to be high on list

Teachers have a "good shout" of being high on the coronavirus vaccine priority list once the most clinically vulnerable have received their jabs, the Health Secretary has said.

Matt Hancock said it was important to break the chains of transmission, but that those at highest risk of death needed to be protected first.

It comes following reports of proposals for mass vaccination programmes for education staff over the February half-term.

According to the Daily Mail, the proposal has been drawn up by a number of educational bodies and would incur no cost to the Government.

Speaking on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr Hancock said: "It's not a matter of logistics, the logistics can be organised. The challenge is the supply of vaccine, supply is the rate-limiting factor.

"The question is who should have each dose as it comes in... and we've taken the decision, quite rightly, to go through in order of clinical need, starting with those who are most likely to die from this disease.

"Of course we want to breakthechainsoftransmission but we've alsogottostoppeople dying from the diseaseiftheycatchit.

"We're going through those who are clinically vulnerable... and after that there's a perfectly reasonable debate to be had about who should go in what order next. Teachers have got a good shout to be very high on thelistandthosediscussions are going on."

The Sunday Times said Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was expected to rule out a return to the classroomaftertheFebruaryhalfterm break.