Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1033. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the engagements she has had with representative bodies to date regarding the decision not to vaccinate teachers as a priority. [19573/21]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1034. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will make available the scientific advice that she has referred to regarding the decision to not vaccinate teachers as a priority. [19574/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1033 and 1034 together.

The new vaccination roll out schedule, which was recommended to government by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), and endorsed by the NPHET, is that the remainder of the population after Group 9 will be completed on an age basis from those aged 64 years and younger, and that this decision will replace the previous groupings in the original plan. The recommendations from the NIAC have been published on the RCPI website:

Following the Government decision to accept the NPHET recommendations in relation to the vaccination programme, I, as Minister, together with senior officials of the Department, organised and attended a briefing for education unions and management bodies by Dr Ronan Glynn, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Dr Kevin Kelleher from the HSE, where the medical evidence that informed NIAC in relation to the revised programme was set out. The risk of someone aged 55-64 with COVID-19 is 70 times higher in terms of death, over 20 times higher in terms of ICU admission and 5 times higher in terms of hospitalisation when compared to the risk facing someone aged 20-34 with COVID-19.

The move to an age-based model supports the vaccination programme objectives by protecting those at highest risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death first regardless of occupation. The move also facilitates the planning and execution of the programme across the entire country and improve transparency and fairness.

This decision has implications for many sectors including school staff and will result in those working in schools being vaccinated with their age cohort. People who are medically vulnerable including school staff will continue to be vaccinated in line with their original grouping.

The vaccine programme has never been about valuing one group or profession over another. The guiding force behind it has always been to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Clear scientific evidence now tells us that older people, regardless of occupation, are more susceptible to the virus. If we truly wish to protect the most vulnerable, we must act proactively on the basis of this scientific evidence.

The Department of Education is strongly committed to regular engagement with the education partners on all matters relating to the safe and sustainable operation of schools in the pandemic and will continue to engage with unions and management bodies of all of these issues. Weekly briefings by public health specialists for the education partners will also continue in the coming term.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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1035. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a distinction is being drawn in terms of risk and need for vaccinations with SNAs and others who carry out the same roles but in a different setting given the level of one to one and personal care provided by SNAs in special needs schools and the inability to social distance. [19583/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The new vaccination roll out schedule, which was recommended to government by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and endorsed by the NPHET, is that the remainder of the population after Group 9 will be completed on an age basis from those aged 64 years and younger, and that this decision will replace the previous groupings in the original plan. The evidence is clear that hospitalisation and death risk increases with age, while a review conducted by NIAC did not see any occupational group emerge as being at higher risk of morbidity or mortality. The risk of someone aged 55-64 with COVID-19 is 70 times higher in terms of death, over 20 times higher in terms of ICU admission and 5 times higher in terms of hospitalisation when compared to the risk facing someone aged 20-34 with COVID-19. I appreciate this change in schedule has been a cause of upset and disappointment for many in the education sector, and also in other sectors.

The move to an age-based model supports the vaccination programme objectives by protecting those at highest risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death first regardless of occupation.

The Department remains committed to regular engagement with the education partners and will continue to engage with unions and management bodies on all issues concerning Covid-19.