Victorian teachers call to fast-track COVID-19 vaccine

Health experts say the key to preventing another disruption to students’ education is to make teachers a priority in the vaccine rollout.

Teachers and health experts are calling for fast-tracked Covid-19 vaccinations for educators, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus and prevent another prolonged period of remote learning.

It comes after the latest West Melbourne outbreak, which included a teacher from North Melbourne Primary School, who tested positive to the Delta variant. Health officials are also worried about “anecdotal reports” of greater transmissibility between children.

More than 200,000 Victorian students lost up to 21 weeks of face-to-face learning in classrooms due to lockdowns last year. And students, excluding VCE pupils, have already lost two weeks of classroom learning this year.

Albert Park College principal Steven Cook said fast-tracking vaccinations for teachers would give them “more confidence” to be in the classroom.

“It would offer them a degree of security and certainty and give them a sense they’re being valued,” he said. “It would be a very wise and positive step.”

A techer at North Melbourne Primary School test postive to Covid. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Tom Davis, a primary school teacher in Melbourne’s north, said it was a “priority” for all education staff to be vaccinated.

“I’m 29 and not being eligible does concern me, and there’s evidence that kids do spread the disease and it leaves us vulnerable,” he said.

Clinical epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter, head of the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health, said teachers should be prioritised for the jab.

She said that was especially the case as the Delta variant of Covid-19 “seems to have more of an effect in children”. “Teachers are essential workers. We owe them protection,” Prof Baxter said.

Australian Education Union Victorian Branch president Meredith Peace said: “Unless education staff are able to have priority access to a vaccine, we continue to be at risk of more disruptions to the on-site education of our students, especially in schools and TAFEs.”

Australian Primary Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott said they would like to see all teachers vaccinated as recognition of their role in the frontline of Australia’s response to Covid-19.

“The offer of vaccination for all teachers would be a way of securing support for children in an environment which features strong relationships with high trust and programmed learning designed around the needs of individual children,” he said.

Experts want teachers vaccinated as recognition of their role in the frontline of Australia’s response to Covid-19.

Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Michelle Green said returning to normal school operations depended on the success of the full range of public health measures to control the spread of the Covid-19.

“There’s a strong case for staff in schools, and especially in childcare services, to have vaccination priority,” she said.

A federal government spokesman said: “From June 8, 2021, everyone aged 40 years and over will be eligible for vaccination. In addition, individuals under 40 years may be eligible based on their personal circumstances, such as an underlying medical condition,”

A Victorian Health Department spokeswoman said teachers who were eligible for vaccination by virtue of age or other eligibility criteria were encouraged to make a booking.