Fórsa, and other unions representing front line staff, have made representations to Government on the need to ensure that staff working in exposure prone areas are given the protection of the vaccine at the earliest possible opportunity.
The union has asked both NIAC and NEPHET to reconsider the position of SNAs who work without social distancing, and secured a commitment from experts to consider the vaccination of SNAs in special settings given the inconsistencies where healthcare staff in the same schools have already been vaccinated.
The union said the Government vaccine schedule should take account of the fact that SNAs in schools provide the same level of care to students as frontline healthcare workers, and noted that the HSE had previously made an assessment that SNAs fitted into the category of front line health workers when special education staff in one CHO (Community Health Organisation) were vaccinated earlier this month.
At present, Fórsa has advised its members that the Government shows no signs of changing its position on using age groups as the basis for vaccinations, and that the union will continue to make the case for the inclusion of SNAs in the vaccination programme for healthcare staff.
These developments follow the emergency motion to Fórsa’s Education conference calling on the Government to complete the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations to staff within all special education schools. The emergency motion was tabled following an address to the conference by Minister for Education Norma Foley TD.
Fórsa has previously asked the Government to review its decision to remove special needs assistants (SNAs) from the Covid-19 vaccine priority list and to include them under ‘category nine’ of its revised vaccine schedule, which includes people aged 16-64 who work in crowded settings.
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SNAs should be prioritised for vaccine – Fórsa
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