Legal threats to schools offering Covid vaccines

LAWYERS AND CAMPAIGNERS HAVE BEEN SENDING LETTERS

SEVERAL Staffordshire schools have received legal threats over plans to vaccinate children.

Since it was announced vaccines would be offered to all 12- to-15-yearolds, lawyers and campaigners have been targeting schools.

Now education authority Staffordshire County Council has said it is aware a number of its schools have been sent letters.

However, the Government has recently outlined schools will play a limited role and trained NHS staff will deliver the jabs.

Immunisation teams will be responsible for providing parental consent forms and information leaflets so families can make a decision themselves.

Details of when the vaccinations for all under-16s will be offered in Staffordshire have yet to be revealed.

One Staffordshire headteacher said: “I’ve already had a letter from a legal company about threatening legal action in case we do decide to give advice or promote the vaccine. It puts staff and school leaders in a tough position.”

One letter sent to schools claimed that schools could be fined if a pupil suffered an adverse reaction, our sister paper The Sentinel reported.

Under new guidance, which was published on Wednesday, schools could be asked to share leaflets, signpost families to other official sources of information on vaccines, and send out letters or emails.

But it adds: “The school age immunisation service provider will be contractually responsible for the services, as they are for other school vaccination programmes.

“The expectation is that the vaccination programme will be delivered primarily within schools.”

The issue of whether to vaccinate under-16s has proved a divisive one. Some parents are adamant they don’t want their children to take part. It will remain a voluntary scheme.

The guidance says parents will “usually make this decision jointly with their children.

“In secondary schools, some older children may be sufficiently mature to provide their own consent,” it adds.

“This sometimes occurs if a parent has not returned a consent form, but the child still wishes to have the vaccine on the day of the session. Every effort will be made to contact the parent to seek their verbal consent.”

If a young person wants the jab against their parents’ wishes, they can be assessed by a healthcare professional to see if they are what’s called ‘Gillick competent.’ This means they have the capacity to make the decision themselves and can’t be over-ruled by their parents.

Pupils who are off school on the day of the vaccinations will be offered “catch-up arrangements” if they still want the jab.

The NAHT school leaders’ union welcomed the clarity over who will be legally responsible for the vaccinations.