Starmer ‘is wrong’ on teacher jabs
LABOUR’S demands for teachers to be allowed to leapfrog the queue for vaccinations were rejected outright by the Prime Minister.
Sir Keir Starmer had demanded all school staff were inoculated ahead of people in their 60s and younger ones with serious health conditions, to speed up the return to class.
Labour’s leader wanted the jabs done in February half-term. But a Downing Street source said: “Labour’s position is that it would take vaccines away from people who are at high risk... and give it to those at low risk. We think that is the wrong policy.”
Sir Keir asked Boris Johnson in a heated clash via video link at Prime Minister’s Questions: “Reopening our schools should be a national priority, but... the Prime Minister has not got a plan.
“Does he agree with me that, once the first four categories of the most vulnerable have been vaccinated by mid-February, he should bring forward the vaccination of key workers and use the window of the February half-term to vaccinate all teachers and all school staff?”
The PM hit back: “People need to hear if we are to get schools to reopen, because that is the best thing for pupils and the best thing for families. I would like to hear from the Leader of the Opposition in defiance of his union paymasters that schools are safe.”
England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam said there was not a “markedly increased rate of infection or mortality” among teachers.