Urgent clarification on teacher access to Covid-19 vaccine

Please urgently read and action the request in the letter from NHS Kent and Medway CCG (PDF, 287.2 KB). Links to NHS Covid-19 vaccination booking services have been wrongly shared within education and bookings by school staff not in the priority groups are preventing more vulnerable people at risk of serious ill health from being vaccinated. This needs urgent action. School staff who have made bookings are going to be cancelled and will be turned away from vaccination centres.

The government criteria for eligibility for vaccinations has not changed and teaching staff should not be making bookings through the facility that has been circulating unless they are in one of the existing top four priority groups.

We are however pleased to advise the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group has issued one area of clarification. Teachers and staff at special schools working directly with children with complex health needs have been defined as frontline carers and as such are eligible for vaccination. School staff not providing direct care to vulnerable children are not included and nor are staff working in mainstream schools with clinically extremely vulnerable children at this stage.

The Kent and Medway CCG will be sending out a letter to all special schools this week with further details on the booking process for those who are being seen as frontline care staff.