Covid-19 vaccinations of adolescents in educational institutions are scheduled to continue through next week, with vaccination at all public secondary schools, except for Belonie secondary, commencing on Monday September 13.
In a press conference held yesterday afternoon at the Ministry of Education’s command centre, principal secretary for education, Odile de Comarmond, noted that S5 students from all public secondary schools whose parents have consented to the Pfizer jab, will be administered the first dose on Monday, while students from lower levels will receive the jab over the course of the week.
On Monday, students of all levels are expected to be on school campuses, although only S2 and S3 students will be on school premises alongside the S5 students at Pointe Larue school. Considering it does not have S5 classes, the Belonie secondary school is excluded from Monday’s schedule.
Tuesday September 14 will see health teams administering jabs to students from S1 and S4 across all schools. S5 students are allowed to remain at home for the day, although some will be expected to attend if their respective schools have made alternative arrangements.
On Wednesday, S5 students are due to return to school, and students of S2 and S3 will also be administered the vaccine on the same day.
Thursday’s schedule is reserved for Belonie secondary school, while Thursday and Friday September 16 and 17, will see vaccinations at private schools and professional centres.
Adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 on Praslin and La Digue will be covered on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“In the preparatory stages for the vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Education had a representative on the health committee and we had numerous meetings whereby we took part in the discussions. In the preparation, health staff went into the schools to assess how they will organise themselves. There has been training for those who will be assisting at school level and there was also a meeting with all head teachers, principals to agree on the modality and the days that the campaign will be ongoing,” Dr de Comarmond explained.
Dr de Comarmond went on to explain that schools will cater for students who remain in school after vaccination as the ministry has kept bus schedules the same, except for Belonie school where special arrangements have been made to collect the students based on the organisation of the vaccination programme.
According to health promotion coordinator Brigitte Labonte, parents are welcome to accompany their children through the process and to collect them after they had received their jab, upon consulting with the school and the Ministry of Health team leader, as to the approximate time their child will be vaccinated, to avoid any inconveniences and unnecessary gatherings outside school premises.
Parents are also being advised to return the consent forms to their respective schools at the earliest possible for record management purposes.
As for parents who are still sceptical and unsure about the vaccine, they may get in touch with the school or the Ministry of Health on 4488061.
With regard to the organisation on the part of the Ministry of Health, it was clarified by policy analyst Sanjeev Pugazhendhi that eight teams are being deployed for the vaccination of adolescents, on a regional basis.
The second dose of the Pfizer vaccines is planned to be administered in three weeks and it is hoped that the population which comprises around 6500 to 7000 adolescents will be covered within a reasonable timeframe.
For students who will be sitting exams in three weeks, the second dose can be rescheduled.
“There is still some infection across all age groups, even children aged between 12 to 17 and it is possible that even if their parents have consented and they cannot come on the said date, or if they miss their appointment for the second dose, it is okay as they will still have the opportunity to get the jab later,” Dr Pugazhendhi said.
“Based on information that we received yesterday, the parents of more than 50% of students enrolled in our educational system have consented to them taking the vaccine. This is very good and we expect that there will be more gradually. According to our plans, we should complete all the vaccination campaign by the end of November,” Dr Pugazhendhi explained.
The doctor advised that students who have tested positive wait at least one month before taking the vaccine but they should not do so immediately after completing their 14-day quarantine. As for those who have not had symptoms during the whole quarantine, they can take the jab as soon as they complete quarantine. Both parents and adolescents should remain alert to any side effects and to visit their nearest health centre if they experience any and to advise the health professional of the date they were administered the vaccine.
With the vaccination of adolescents, the rate of transmission among the group is expected to reduce, as well as hospitalisations in the age group. The benefits will also extend to society in general.
Transmission in schools was almost zero until the start of the year. With the new Delta variant, transmission in school rose significantly, with adolescents being among the most-affected age group. Over the course of the year, the education system has seen school closures and disruptions to learning.
“For the time being, at any time, there are around 80 children aged between 12 and 17 who are active cases. The majority of them are in scholarly institutions and this means, only those who we know are positive and there may be others who may be positive but we do not know because they have not tested or are not experiencing symptoms. There are also students who are contacts and need to remain in quarantine, so at a given time there may be 400 or 500 students who are not able to attend school due to Covid-19 transmission,” Dr Pugazhendhi added, affirming that transmission is not only in schools.
Source: Seychelles Nation