As Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow, the NSW government has announced that almost 10,000 teachers in COVID-19 hotspots will now get to vaccinations.
From Friday July 16, teachers and aged care workers in the local government areas of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool are eligible to get the jab at a vaccine hub operating at Fairfield Showground.
“I encourage all staff who are eligible for the vaccine to get vaccinated as soon as possible, and for those in impacted LGAs to take full advantage of this priority access,” NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell said in a .
The priority access extends to all staff, including teachers, administration staff and support officers working for government and non-government schools.
Insight spoke to three teachers, two in Sydney and one in Melbourne, who all supported the move. But, they feel it should have come sooner, and be extended to other teachers across the country.
Sydney CBD's deserted streets during lockdown Source: Getty
Sydney teacher – 37
Despite being asthmatic and having to work closely with children and other adults as part of his job, *John wasn’t eligible to obtain a Pfizer vaccination.
“Teachers are essential frontline workers, there is no doubt about this, we interact with significant numbers of the public as part of our job on a daily basis,” he told Insight.
“We provide a service that is essential to the operation of society, but we are not treated like other essential frontline workers. There is a reluctance and recalcitrance on the part of governments to admit to this.”
John, who teaches three subjects at a school in Sydney’s lower North Shore, said both his parents have compromised immune systems – so he was keen to get vaccinated as soon as he could.
When that anyone under the age of 40 could receive the AstraZeneca vaccine after speaking to their doctor, he immediately sought a consultation.
“I considered the risks, and believe I’m doing the right thing by myself and my community,” he said, adding that he will receive his second AstraZeneca shot in September.
He told Insight he is glad teachers in Sydney’s COVID hotspots are now being given priority to the vaccine, but said he is frustrated this wasn’t offered sooner.
“It’s unfortunately overdue and far too little, far too late,” he said.
“It’s great for the teachers in those areas but it needs to be rolled out as a matter of priority in the Sydney area.”
Ms Mitchell said she is continuing to push for vaccinations for NSW teachers.
“Vaccinating teachers is something I have been advocating for publicly and with my colleagues at a state and federal level,” she told Insight.
“I will continue to advocate for vaccinations for NSW teachers. The barrier to this remains a supply issue.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday that, until more doses of the vaccine became available, NSW would only be able to vaccinate those most in need.
“We need to make sure that we provide the vaccines to those priority communities but if you have an unlimited supply of the vaccine, once we get doses rolling through, then can you provide greater coverage to greater numbers of workers and greater numbers of the community who are vulnerable,” she said.
“What we need to do in the meantime is take the health advice on what the key priorities are, what the key areas are and that is what we're doing.”
Melbourne teacher – 27
*Melissa is a secondary school teacher in Melbourne’s inner northwest.
She said she comes into close contact with up to 100 students each day and she feels “frightened” to be working in the current circumstances.
“I am also pregnant, and am therefore at an increased risk of hospitalisation should I contract COVID-19,” she said.
“Due to my age, I am ineligible for the Pfizer vaccine … It is very frightening to be working unprotected under these conditions.”
Melissa said both the Delta variant of COVID, which is currently spreading throughout NSW, and the latest , which she’d seen online, had caused her to “feel a bit panicked”.
“Part of seeing that ad caused a bit of a panic in me as well because I thought that’s far more likely to be me, being pregnant and coming into contact with so many people.”
Melissa, who has been working throughout the pandemic, including during Melbourne’s four month lockdown, said she’s felt ignored.
“It’s been exhausting because we’ve had to kind of revolutionise the way that we do our jobs but we haven’t, for the most part, we haven’t felt protected, especially by the federal government.”
Melissa said she is aware of NSW’s plan to vaccinate teachers in the COVID hotspots as a priority, but - like John - also believes this should have been done sooner.
“It’s better than nothing but it’s a bit too late, they are vaccinating people who should have been vaccinated before."
“Vaccinations need to come before the outbreaks.
“I do think teachers under 40 should be moved up in the vaccine rollout phases, we’re frontline workers and the best case scenario is if our schools are able to stay open and the kids are safe and if we’re vaccinated we’re in the best position to do that.”
The federal Department of Health told Insight that more than half of Australia's adult population is currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination, including: anyone aged 40 years and over, and anyone aged 16 to 39 years who is in a priority group.
"In addition, people aged 18-39 years who are not otherwise eligible through a priority group can choose to receive AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination, where they give informed consent," a department spokesperson said.
"Many teachers or childcare workers may now be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination on the basis of their age, or other grounds."
The department spokesperson also stated that some states and territories will, "amend their eligibility based on their COVID-19 situation and vaccine supply and uptake."
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says a new TV ad is intended to be "graphic" to motivate people to stay home and get vaccinated. Source: Supplied
Sydney teacher – 38
*Jane works as a secondary school teacher in Western Sydney. She said she’s upset teachers like herself have not been included in the early vaccination rollout given the nature of their jobs.
“I feel like I’m unimportant, like I’m some sort of glorified babysitter, and that I don’t matter, that my health, my safety doesn’t matter, and that I could bring home the virus to my family and that no one would care,” she said.
“It’s scary not knowing whether or not you’re going to come into contact with the virus with what I feel are very basic protective measures and I’ve felt un-supported by larger institutions - my school is very supportive - but in terms of the government I don’t feel supported at all, I feel like we’ve been abandoned as a profession.”
Last year, a student at Jane’s school attended classes while infected with coronavirus.
Jane, along with everyone else at the school, was forced to go into a two-week quarantine. She said the experience made her determined to obtain a vaccination.
“There was no way I was going back into face-to-face teaching without some level of protection.”
Jane, who was recently able to obtain her first Pfizer vaccination, said she was disappointed in the recent announcement that teachers in Sydney’s COVID hotspots will be offered the vaccine as a priority.
“I was quite annoyed and quite disappointed that, you know, why did teachers in that particular local government area get special treatment over teachers in any other area in Sydney?”
She said she felt the vaccine should have been offered, “Sydney wide, state wide, nationwide, why are teachers not essential workers just like frontline workers?”
Jane is due to get her second Pfizer dose in August.
*Teachers’ names have been changed to protect their identity.
