Pupils will have to wear masks in class
SECONDARY SCHOOL and college pupils in England will need to continue wearing face masks in class when they return after Easter, the Government has said.
The move came after five education union leaders called on Ministers not to “rush into” removing face coverings from classrooms after Easter without careful consideration of the scientific evidence.
The Department for Education (DfE) expects face coverings to no longer be required in classrooms when further easing of social contact limits indoors are confirmed in England.
But this will be no earlier than May 17. Any changes to the policy will be confirmed with one week’s notice, the DfE said.
Pupils have been advised to wear face masks wherever social distancing cannot be maintained, including in class, since March 8.
The news comes after a trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine on children has been paused while the UK’s medicines regulator investigates a possible link with rare blood clots in adults. Prof Andrew Pollard, from the University of Oxford, told the BBC there were no safety concerns with the trial itself, but its scientists were waiting for further information.
THE PRIME Minister has urged people to get their Covid-19 vaccine when invited, despite concerns about potential side effects from the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.
Boris Johnson said getting the population vaccinated was “the key thing”. Regulatory bodies from the UK and Europe are assessing data on the jab and a potential association with a rare form of blood clot.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that it will also convene a panel of experts to assess the information.
The WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have confirmed they will publish findings later this week.
Mr Johnson defended the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as he visited the pharmaceutical giant’s manufacturing plant in Macclesfield.
“On the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, the best thing people should do is look at what the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency) say, our independent regulator – that’s why we have them, that’s why they are independent,” he said.
“Their advice to people is to keep going out there, get your jab, get your second jab.”
He added: “The best thing of all is to vaccinate our population, get everybody out getting the jab, that’s the key thing and that’s what I would advocate, number one”.
It comes after reports that a senior EMA official told an Italian newspaper there appears to be an association with the vaccine and rare blood clots.
Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccines at the EMA, is said to have suggested a clear link, though admitted there was uncertainty how the vaccine would cause the complication.
When asked about the remarks, Dr Rogerio Pinto de Sa Gaspar, director of regulation and prequalification at the WHO, said: “As we were in this briefing, there was a denial from the European Medicine’s Agency concerning the existence of the link.”
The EMA’s said that its safety committee has “not yet reached a conclusion and the review is currently ongoing” but it is expected to announce findings soon. Dr Pinto de Sa Gaspar added: “There is no link for the moment between the vaccine and thrombolytic events with thrombocytopenia.
“There are a number of committees and regulatory authorities looking at data and new data is coming every day and (they are) assessing those data. Of course it’s under evaluation and we wait for some feedback from those committees in coming days and hours.
“The appraisal that we have for the moment, and this is under consideration by the experts, is that the benefit-risk assessment for the vaccine is still largely positive.”
Keep going out there, get your jab, get your second jab. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s advice as he stands by the independent regulator