Rejected petition Vaccinate all teachers in Wales now, so that schools are ready to reopen when case numbers drop.
Schools are currently closed for two reasons - to reduce transmission between pupils, but also because it’s not a safe environment for teachers to work in classrooms where social distancing is impossible.
When case numbers drop, the Welsh Government will want to reopen schools, but unions will argue that teachers are still individually at risk.
Vaccinating teachers now will ensure that schools can reopen as soon as possible.
Prioritising teachers means prioritising our children.
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Less than 1% of the population of Wales are teachers. They could be vaccinated in a matter of days.
Teachers are front-line key workers just like NHS doctors and nurses - they have no choice but to take a personal risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 when doing their job, because they can’t do their job in a socially-distanced way.
We are prioritising NHS workers because they have to go to work to look after sick people. We should do the same for teachers. Our children’s mental health is as important as older people’s physical health.
It’s time for us to stand behind our teachers, and demand this for them - because only when teachers feel safe will our schools be able to reopen.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue, or if the Petitions Committee has considered one in the last year.
The Petitions Committee is already considering a petition on this issue:
Prioritise teachers, school and childcare staff for COVID-19 vaccination
https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/244527
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards
Rejected petitions are published in the language in which they were submitted