SUNDAY MAIL COMMENT: A Spectacular, Public Spirit Offer Boris Johnson Should Accept

To the dismay of those who will never forgive him for Brexit, Boris Johnson once again demonstrates his ability to succeed where others fail or dare not.

Mass vaccination against Covid, itself the fruit of brilliant British science, now brings hope and comfort to millions: hope for those who yearn for liberation, comfort for those who fear the virus.

It turns out that it is perfectly possible, under strong leadership and smart direction, for the machinery of government to deliver an important project, on time and efficiently.

Hopefully the lessons are learned for the future and that other state projects will follow suit.

Of course, it is absolutely correct that the vaccination program has targeted the most vulnerable first, and this should certainly continue until all of these categories have received protection.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a coronavirus press conference at 10 Downing Street, London, on Friday

But that moment will provide an opportunity for an ingenious new initiative, which The Mail on Sunday today urges Johnson and his colleagues to actively consider.

A group of the best schools in the private and state sectors have come together to make a spectacular and public-spirited offer.

They suggest that the government use its facilities and trained personnel to establish dozens of additional vaccination centers. And then, once the medical priority cases have been addressed, they propose a bold program to immunize teachers and other school personnel in time for the second half of the current term. At a minimum, this should allow for the reopening of elementary schools and high school examination years. In one fell swoop, he would put aside many of the objections to the school’s reopening and restore one of the most important parts of our national life.

Teachers’ unions, who rightly proclaim the importance of their profession to our economy and society, would surely welcome this recognition that they are right.

In truth, there are few tasks more urgent than finding a way to get schools, and then universities, reopened.

Schools perform many more functions than simple education. They provide their students with a routine and early experience of good work habits. They provide the social interaction that makes the difference between life and lonely existence. They provide adequate meals to the children of households where these things are woefully rare. Sometimes they allow teachers to spot serious problems in the home that would otherwise never come to light. And, of course, they give parents the freedom to go out to work during school hours.

Many schools have met the challenge of distance learning extraordinarily well, and this newspaper congratulates those who have.

Nurse Hannah Flynn administers the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to a patient at a temporary vaccination center at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster

But others have fared worse, mostly due to severe computer shortages in poorer households, making the idea of ​​distance learning more or less impossible for some young people.

But overall, it is true that school closings have affected the children of the poor much more than those of the wealthy middle classes.

In 21st century Britain, which the prime minister has publicly promised to level, this gap is intolerable and must be closed. One of the most effective ways to do this is to get the schools fully reopened as soon as reasonably possible.

In the same spirit in which he has approached the vaccination program, Mr. Johnson should now accept this generous and thoughtful suggestion.