'Teachers should be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19': UNICEF

World

Published: 2020-12-16 10:07

Last Updated: 2024-03-29 06:31


'Teachers should be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19': UNICEF
'Teachers should be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19': UNICEF

Teachers should be prioritized for vaccination against coronavirus, said UNICEF's Executive Director Henrietta Fore Tuesday in an official statement.

Vaccinating teachers is an important step to put education back on track, after the coronavirus pandemic 'wreaked havoc' on the learning process across the world, she added.

“At their peak in late April 2020, nationwide school closures disrupted the learning of almost 90 percent of students worldwide. While that number has dropped since, there continues to be an unsupported assumption that closing schools may slow the spread of the disease, despite increasing evidence that schools are not a main driver of community transmission," said Fore.

UNICEF called for teachers to be prioritized for vaccination, right after health workers and high-risk citizens. This will enable teachers to do their job in person and keep schools open, the statement read.

The consequences of 'missed or impaired education' for long periods of time are 'steep,' especially for the most marginalized students. The longer in-school education is suspended, the less likely students are to return to schools and the more difficult it is for parents to resume working normally.

Fore added that it should not be difficult "to do everything in our power to safeguard the future of the next generation. This begins by safeguarding those responsible for opening that future up for them.”