Teachers in Scotland should be prioritised alongside frontline and key workers to receive the coronavirus vaccination, a former First Minister has said. 

Lord Jack McConnell has implied that a rapid roll-out of the Covid jab to school staff could prevent any potential school closures. 

It comes as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to update the nation on new measures hoped to suppress transmission of the new Covid variant. 

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Reports have suggested it could mean schools would remain closed for the rest of January with a phased return. 

Lord Jack McConnell has blasted the potential closures as a "disaster" while he made calls for the vaccine to reach teachers sooner. 

Speaking to The Times, he said: “They are just as important to the country as health services and lifeline ferries.

"The governments in Edinburgh and London have dithered on this for too long.

"More closures will be a disaster for pupils and parents struggling to cope.

“We need a national action plan to keep kids in a school-type environment, including testing, vaccines for staff and IT equipment for those that need it.”

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His calls were sided by Us For Them Scotland, a parents' campaign group set up to protect childrens' education during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Organiser Jo Bisset said: “It is the responsibility of this government to ensure children receive a good education and the only way to do that is keeping the school gates open.”