On Monday August 30, the European directorates of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef said teachers and school staff should be among the priority groups for vaccination against Covid-19.
Measures to ensure that schools can stay open throughout the pandemic “include offering teachers and other school staff the COVID-19 vaccine as part of target population groups in national vaccination plans,” the UN agencies wrote in a statement.
As schools reopen after the summer holidays, the agencies said it was “vital that classroom-based learning continue uninterrupted,” despite the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus.
The recommendation was already made by a group of WHO experts in November 2020 before the vaccination campaign and should be done “while ensuring vaccination of vulnerable populations,” specifies the statement.