Kyochong Proposes to Ministry of Education and KDCA: "Vaccination Opportunity Should Be Given to Teachers in Their 60s"

Cancellation or Postponement of Vaccination Excludes Teachers in Their 60s from Priority Vaccination
Kindergarten Staff in Their 60s Also Receive Priority Vaccination... "Other Criteria Are Hard to Accept"

On the 16th, surpassing the initial target of 13 million first-dose COVID-19 vaccinations and achieving the goal earlier than expected, police officers are administering vaccines at the COVID-19 Vaccination Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Korea Teachers' Federation has urged health authorities to devise measures to provide vaccination opportunities to teachers in their 60s who were excluded from the vaccination target group for school staff during the summer vacation.

On the 2nd, the Korea Teachers' Federation submitted an urgent petition to the Ministry of Education and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, demanding, "Provide vaccination opportunities to school staff aged 60 and over who canceled or postponed their vaccine reservations."

The Federation criticized, "The Ministry of Education keeps repeating a powerless response that the Disease Control Agency insists on the principle of providing a one-time vaccination opportunity to all citizens nationwide," adding, "The Disease Control Agency should not ignore student safety by sticking only to principles, and the Ministry of Education should not respond helplessly by only emphasizing full in-person attendance."

They continued, "Upon learning about the vaccination plan for all school staff during the vacation, many have postponed or canceled their vaccine applications," and stated, "Since the government's announcements and guidelines are ambiguous, it is not right to place all responsibility on teachers."

The Federation criticized that while kindergarten staff aged 60 to 64 are included in the vaccination target, this does not apply to elementary, middle, and high school staff. They said, "It is also unacceptable to apply the same issue differently depending on the school level."

Ha Yun-su, president of the Korea Teachers' Federation, urged, "What is important now is to ensure safe full in-person attendance for students and staff," and emphasized, "Regardless of reasons, vaccination application and opportunities must be provided to all school staff without age distinction."