The union representing the province’s teachers says they should be near the front of the line when it comes to the rollout of phase 2 of vaccinations.

NLTA President Dean Ingram notes the government continually refers to teachers as essential workers providing an essential service. As such, he says they should be a priority to receive the vaccine, right after health care workers and the most vulnerable.

He pointed to the most recent outbreak of the more contagious UK variant of the virus, and the fact that it spread primarily amongst school-aged children, adding the K-12 system can’t operate without teachers.

Ingram says vaccinating teachers would provide protection for both staff and students, and increase the likelihood of schools staying open safely when in-class learning resumes.