PUBLIC health bosses at Bracknell Forest Council are considering how they can make sure staff in special and nursery schools can get a coronavirus vaccine quicker.

Early-years settings and special schools remain open during the current national lockdown but plans to vaccinate staff at these establishments sooner have not been brought forward.

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Currently, the most vulnerable are prioritised for vaccination, with residents in care homes and their carers topping the list.

Frontline social care workers join all those 80 years of age and older second in the list.

Prioritisation then descends through age groups and people with underlying health conditions.

But according to the BBC, The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, Early Years Alliance and National Day Nurseries Association want vaccine priority for staff, and also mass testing in early years settings, with many staff worried about transmission between children and adults.

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This issue was raised at a meeting of Bracknell Forest Council’s local outbreak engagement board (LOEB) yesterday.

A member of the public asked the board: “Has the council considered making representations to the central government concerning making vaccinations for staff in special and nursery schools a higher priority?

“Although the risk of transmission is considered to be low, it may assist in enhancing staff’s wellbeing and confidence to undertake their important work.”

Charlotte Pavitt, BFC’s top public health officer, said this issue was something the authority had encountered.

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She said: “This has been considered and discussed. With nurseries and special schools remaining open it is agreed that staff are at risk of transmission having to go out to work and not being able to stay at home.

“At the moment, the prioritisation process for health and social care staff to receive the vaccine is currently underway.

“That is something we are having those discussions and considerations around currently.”

The meeting took place on Tuesday, January 12.