Teachers in NSW COVID hotspots granted priority vaccination access

The New South Wales Government will prioritise vaccinations for 12,000 school staff in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, and Liverpool local government areas. The teachers and education support staff will have access to a mass vaccination hub at Fairfield Showgrounds from Friday.

Sarah Mitchell, New South Wales Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning told RN breakfast said she has advocated for all teachers to be vaccinated and prioritising all school staff in the ‘hotspots’ was really ‘an issue of supply’.

‘This a good first step. Its recognising that teachers do need to receive the vaccination and when we do have the supply available, we are making them eligible, starting with these three areas,’ she said.

‘We don’t have an issue with demand – every teacher that I know wants to be vaccinated – it really is the supply.’

In a letter released on Monday, the United Workers Union, Australian Education Union and Independent Education Union called for the Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, to prioritise access to vaccination for teachers, educators and support staff in schools and early learning centres to ‘keep these frontline essential workers and those they educate safe’.

The ACTU has been advocating for teachers to be prioritised for vaccinations since January.

Over 49 per cent of NSW teaching staff are aged 40 and above and therefore not yet eligible to be vaccinated without the priority measures.

Early childhood teachers will not be covered by the policy change. Not does it offer vaccinations to teachers who live in the hotspots but teach elsewhere.

Minister Mitchell said she wants to look beyond the three affected LGAs but based on health advice and the availability of doses, had to prioritise staff moving amongst schools in those areas.

She pleaded with teachers in those areas to get their vaccinations as soon as possible.

Students in NSW are studying from home this week and increases in infection rates mean they are likely to do so for longer.

The NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has warned lockdown measures are ‘weeks’ from ending. 

The NSW Government will tell parents and teachers ‘what next week and beyond will look like’ in the next two days.

Christine Cooper, Acting Federal Secretary of the Independent Education Union of Australia, said: ‘Teachers and education support staff have exposure to an extensive proportion of the community.

‘They have at all times met the challenges of this pandemic with professionalism and commitment to their students and communities. They too, deserve to feel safe and protected.’

‘Instead of getting schools on a ‘return-to-normal’ path, we have teachers and support staff experiencing long waits for the vaccine. The way forward for schools and for society is to ensure that all teachers and education support staff have priority access to vaccination. This will safeguard schools and centres as the safe environment needed for the essential uninterrupted delivery of quality education.’

Last week, Amber Flohm, the senior vice-president of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, told The Guardian teachers should be next in line to be vaccinated after older Australians, healthcare, and border workers.

‘The federation continues to advocate for the higher priority for teachers as critical workers – and their role as essential to societal function,’ she said.

‘This is of course after current priorities of aged care, healthcare, disability care, border and quarantine and other vulnerable worker and other vulnerable populations.’