More than three-quarters of teachers believe they should be a higher priority for vaccinations than the general public once the vaccination of the initial priority groups has been completed, a new survey reveals.

The YouGovTeacherTrack survey, involving a total of 1,059 teachers across the UK, shows that only one in five (19 per cent) believe they should not be a priority, with 6 per cent unsure.

These results are consistent across primary and secondary teachers, and the size of the school that teachers work at.

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The findings follow a YouGov survey in November that revealed the British public were also in favour of giving teachers early vaccination.

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Just over four in 10 members of the public polled said teachers should be one of the top priority groups, and a further 43 per cent said they should have priority ahead of the general public but not top priority.

Only 11 per cent of Britons said teachers should not have any priority status.

In January, health secretary Matt Hancock said teachers were in with “a good shout” of vaccine priority.

And the Labour Party proposed vaccinating teachers ahead of the general public, once the most vulnerable had received their doses.

However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recommends the vaccine priority order to ministers, last month said the next wave of vaccines should be based solely on age rather than occupation.