COVID-19: “teachers should be among those prioritized for the vaccines”, WHO

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.