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'Vaccine lottery for SNAs': Union says jabs given to all staff in some schools while others overlooked

The union is calling for SNAs to be designated as frontline healthcare workers and prioritised for vaccines.

TRADE UNION FÓRSA has said there is a ‘vaccine lottery’ in special schools with some staff having already received vaccines while others are told they will have to wait until it is their turn in the age-based rollout.

Andy Pike, head of Fórsa’s education division, said HSE experts at a local level have included some special needs assistants and special education teachers in the vaccine rollout for frontline healthcare workers.

“There is a vaccine lottery at the moment in our special schools and it’s experienced on two levels,” he said at the union’s annual conference today.

“Firstly, in most special schools the occupational therapists and the physiotherapists who are also represented by Fórsa have received the vaccine as they are classed as healthcare staff, while the SNAs carrying out intimate care of the same students cannot access the vaccine

“We in Fórsa have to explain how members of the same union, working in the same school, have different vaccine status  depending on their job.”

He said the government had said vaccination will be rollout regardless of occupation but “that’s just not happening” in special schools.

Pike said in some special schools, all staff have been called for vaccination by the HSE, while staff in other schools in different areas have not.

“That’s unfair, it’s illogical and inequitable,” he said.

He said the government should have included SNAs in Cohort 2, designating them as frontline healthcare workers from the start of the programme.

Pike said the HSE knows the degree of risk SNAs are exposed to.

“We accept that age is the biggest risk factor if you contract Covid-19 – we don’t argue with that evidence. But the effect of the new policy is that our 60-year-old members will have to wait much longer for the vaccine,” he said.

Our members who are in their 50s will have to wait much longer for the vaccine. Those who are in younger age groups will be exposed to the risk of bringing Covid into their school, or possibly taking it home for a longer period of time.

Addressing the Fórsa conference today, Minister for Education Norma Foley acknowledged that the move to an age-based rollout of vaccinations had disappointed many in the education sector.

She said NIAC, in making its initial recommendations on sequencing in December, committed to keeping priority groups under review, considering new evidence, epidemiology and vaccine supplies.

“New national and international evidence confirms that age is the single ‘strongest predictor’ of whether a person who contracts Covid-19 will be admitted to hospital or ICU or die as a result of their infection. As a result, NIAC has now recommended the vaccine programme move to an age-based rollout,” she said.

The minister said this decision is not “related to how we value any particular profession”.

“It is about the latest scientific evidence and how we can reduce the levels of serious illness or death from this virus,” she said.

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24 Comments
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    Mute Thomas Harrington
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    Apr 20th 2021, 7:51 PM

    1) Cops only go after the easy stops
    2) students need to grow a pair

    165
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    Mute Big Smokey
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:12 PM

    @Thomas Harrington: honestly have never seen students complaining. Only people complaining about students.

    Also I don’t see how it’s acceptable to say “grow a pair” when students are getting regular fines of €75 when they don’t have any income.

    92
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    Mute Brian Lyons
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:46 PM

    @Thomas Harrington: if they only go after the easy stops who is filling the jail’s with the terrorists, murderers, organised gangs ?

    69
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    Mute Pat Casey
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:04 PM

    If those little scrotes weren’t having house parties and super spreader get togethers they would have no problems with the guards.

    154
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    Mute Lily Martin
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    Apr 20th 2021, 9:29 PM

    @Pat Casey: maybe read the article

    46
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    Mute seangolden1978
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    Apr 20th 2021, 7:52 PM

    Policing Authority trying to justify their existence again. I can understand the role of GSOC but the policing authority seems like a complete waste of time

    147
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    Mute O Hiongardail Collie
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:13 PM

    The policing authority…… They don’t want body cams because that would be spying on the community says it all really

    89
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    Mute Diarmuid O'Braonáin
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:08 PM

    “People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of their people”

    85
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    Mute merely ed
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    Apr 21st 2021, 12:35 AM

    @Diarmuid O’Braonáin: they are… thats why we have the police. You don’t think they’re there for us, do you?!

    11
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    Mute plug
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    Apr 20th 2021, 7:58 PM

    low hanging fruit is always the tastiest.

    77
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    Mute Garreth mc mahon
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:00 PM

    @plug: depends on who’s plums you’re tasting

    34
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    Mute merely ed
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    Apr 21st 2021, 12:31 AM

    @plug: True that… sure most garda never even see an actual criminal. It goes…
    Order of engagement:
    Drug users (non supply)
    Low level drug mules/ growers
    Students
    Road users
    Actual criminals (low level)
    White collar
    Government corruption
    Other police (usually abusive partners… although realistically this would be much further down)

    13
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    Mute Darren Carroll
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    Apr 20th 2021, 8:34 PM

    And yet no fines for people attending golfgate

    71
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    Mute OnlyHereForTheComments
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    Apr 21st 2021, 12:14 AM

    @Darren Carroll: bit difficult since fines for breaching travel restrictions only came into effect in January 2021, but hey! Whataboutery, am I right?!

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    Mute merely ed
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    Apr 21st 2021, 12:37 AM

    @OnlyHereForTheComments: well you’re certainly leaning that way…

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    Mute larry bird
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    Apr 20th 2021, 9:34 PM

    if students behaved they wouldn’t have this issue.

    33
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    Mute Jæ Zucula
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    Apr 20th 2021, 10:13 PM

    @larry bird: and for you! What about read the article? I promise you won’t take that long.

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    Mute Honeybee
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    Apr 20th 2021, 10:51 PM

    I do have sympathy for students as depicted in the article and yes the pandemic has introduced a changed interface between the gardai and the public. Some gardai behave in an authoritarian manner arising out of new powers the government sanctioned , for a people who have always known policing by consent, this change in attitude is difficult to take on board, it will be good when sanctions are withdrawn and policing returns to normal, no more heavy handed rules and interrogation of people just trying to live their lives.

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    Mute Tomo
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    Apr 21st 2021, 9:10 AM

    @Honeybee: The Gardai will always feel entitled to interrogate you at any checkpoint from this point onwards, regardless of the law. Sure, I was out walking once in the park a few years ago and they wanted to randomly search my bag, know all my details… I just asked “why?” and they responded “because we’ll arrest you if you don’t tell us”. Gardai are disgusting to deal with as a young person.

    11
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    Mute Tomo
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    Apr 21st 2021, 9:06 AM

    Gardaí will only target those they can pick on. Older people can break the 5km all they like and have far fewer consequences. Students (within their 5km) have been fined so many times (anecdotally). It’s the same with drugs – they’ll pick on harmless people for smoking a joint and won’t go after real drug dealing criminals.

    10
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    Mute Tomo
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    Apr 21st 2021, 9:15 AM

    I really don’t think Irish people fully understand the implications of all these restrictions, having the longest lockdown in the world, and having people in fear of arrest or fine just from seeing a police officer. These have long term consequences down the line. Just one example is, as mentioned in the article, if young people start seeing Gardai as the aggressor, they’re could end up not reporting crime to the Gardai.

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    Mute Mr T
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    Apr 21st 2021, 12:02 AM

    The Garda, not all, are incorrectly perceived as being desk jockeys who turn a blind eye to common dangerous misdemeanors such as cyclists with no lights on their bikes, cyclsts breaking red lights and less dangerous but, just as annoying, dog owners not being fined for not picking up their dog’s excrement (nothing quite beats walking in dog s%it and bringing it home on your shoes).

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    Mute Gavin Tobin
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    Apr 20th 2021, 10:22 PM

    As Alexei Sayle once said “I hate fooking students, even when I was a student I hated fooking students”

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    Mute Jæ Zucula
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    Apr 20th 2021, 10:18 PM

    So there you have! I’m not a student and i can tell that what written in this article doesn’t surprise me at all.
    Anyway, people refuse but the truth of since 2020 “End does justify the means”.

    6
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