Covid-19: Teachers and SNAs in three counties vaccinated ahead of schedule

Teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) in special schools across at least three counties have been vaccinated ahead of schedule, it has emerged.

Staff in special schools in Wexford, Dublin and Galway have been vaccinated despite a Government decision to remove teachers from the priority list for vaccination in favour of an age-based approach.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has apologised for any errors which resulted in school staff being categorised as frontline health workers on the basis that they worked with many high-risk children with disabilities in residential settings. It said these decisions were made in "good faith".

The Government’s decision to remove teachers from the priority list sparked anger among teachers’ unions who voted on Wednesday to hold ballots for strike action unless they are reprioritised for vaccination by the end of the current school year.

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Special schools

Fórsa, the union which represents SNAs, said the development underlined the need to ensure its members across all special schools are vaccinated as soon as possible.

Andy Pike, the union's head of education, said he will raise the matter with the Minister for Education Norma Foley at the union's conference on Friday.

“There are few other groups outside health and social care who work on a consistent basis providing intimate care without the ability to maintain social distancing,” he said.

“In special schools, healthcare staff like nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists have all been vaccinated, whilst the SNAs who work alongside them have not.”

Mr Pike said he hoped the Government would introduce a parallel process to allow SNAs and others frontline workers in schools to be vaccinated on a priority basis.

Ms Foley, however, has said that the change to the vaccination programme was based on age being the single most important factor in Covid-19 causing severe illness, hospitalisation and death.

She said this week that the decision was not a reflection on any one profession and had been driven by science.

The Government’s target is for 80 per cent of adults to have had their first vaccine dose by the end of June.

Reserve list

The early vaccination of some school staff emerged earlier this week, when about 50 staff in special schools in the Dublin area were among a total of 191 people who were called from a reserve list to be vaccinated at the Aviva Stadium to “avoid wastage” .

They were called from a reserve list after a group of people from a disability service provider did not arrive for their jabs due to a “misunderstanding around vaccine scheduling”.

“No vaccines were wasted and their appointments are being rescheduled,” the HSE said in a statement.

The HSE has since confirmed that vaccines were administered to a “small number” of school staff at a special school in Co Wexford, while sources have confirmed that staff at a special school in Co Galway were also vaccinated recently.

Speaking on RTÉ earlier this week, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said this was "not the right way" to compile a reserve list and he has asked the HSE for a detailed report into the matter.

He said he understood that officials were seeking to “do the right thing” they had not followed the correct protocols.