Imaginative solutions have to be found to ensure schools can reopen

Editorial: The moment has come when those working in education should be given some priority in the vaccination programme

There has always been some uncertainty, and some fear, about schools serving as a hub for cross-infection (Getty)

As the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, sometimes remarks, medicine is always about balancing risks. This is true for responding to the Covid crisis, where economics and politics can also enter the calculations. 

We have seen this throughout the pandemic, over the timing and extent of lockdowns, for example, about whether to concentrate on first vaccinations for more people rather than full double jabs for all, and again in the latest round of arguments about reopening schools.  

The moment has come when those working in schools should be given some priority in the vaccination programme, as frontline and economically essential workers. It is true that the infection rates for teachers do not seem to be abnormally high, compared with security officers or taxi drivers for example, but that may not persist if the new more infectious variants spread.