Petition to only open schools after teachers were vaccinated against Covid

A group of teachers launched an online petition to only reopen primary schools after all teaching staff had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. They fear that without that, schools will only have to close again.

The government announced on Sunday that primary schools and daycare institutions will be allowed to reopen on February 8. The initiators worry that this will put "the sustainability of daily education under pressure" as "physical teaching without vaccination can lead to infections among staff". 

Finding substitute teachers to fill in for sick staff was already nearly impossible before the pandemic, due to the existing teacher shortage, they said. 

"We are explicitly calling for first vaccinating and then reopening. Prevention is always better than cure," the initiators said. The called for teachers to be added to the priority vaccination strategy with immediate effect. 

By 11:30 a.m. on Monday, the petition was signed 16,305 times.