Principals in St Thomas support vaccination for face-to-face teaching

Shanna Monteith/Gleaner Writer

At least two principals in St Thomas are giving their support to the Government's drive to vaccinate high school students to facilitate the resumption of face-to-face teaching come October.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is to host a four-day vaccination blitz, starting on Saturday, to inoculate children 12 and older with the Pfizer vaccine.

Jamaica yesterday received a donation of 208,260 doses of the vaccine, the first of three tranches of a total allocation of over 600,000 doses.

The new academic year starts on September 6 with online learning with the Ministry of Education targeting mid-October for in-person teaching.

Education Minister Fayval Williams told a press conference yesterday that children who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to return to classrooms, while the unvaccinated will remain in virtual learning.

READ: Student vaccination faces hard sell

Representatives of the Ministries of Education and Health and Wellness yesterday met with high school principals to discuss how the inoculation process will be conducted.

Principal of Yallahs High School Mark Malabver says he has no issue with the position put forward.

“Whether the parents choose to have their children vaccinated is a choice they have to make.

“The challenge we are going to have is that the unvaccinated are going to be the ones in most need of face-to-face. Chances are they are the ones that don't have the device or Internet for online classes so if it is that they will remain online if unvaccinated, they will continue to be left behind.”

Malabver argued that the resumption of face-to-face learning was compromised as a consequence of the reopening of the entertainment industry, raising the issue of whether education has been a priority.

“The nature of entertainment is social interaction and social interaction is a super spreader… and here we are now having to push back face-to-face. However, I will be playing my part in trying to push the vaccinated agenda.”

Also in support of vaccination for students for in-person teaching is the head of Seaforth High, Calbert Thomas. 

“The recommendation from the meeting is that they are targeting external exam students. If I could get all my students to come and be vaccinated I would encourage them because we have seen what happened during the last school year. At present, we have started to communicate with the parents of all grades 10 and 11 students, encouraging them to listen for their respective centres and to come out and be vaccinated.

According to Thomas, the response from parents has been mostly positive as many are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their children return to school.

“We, the school, are also prepared to do everything humanly possible to get students out to the vaccination centres so if it means transporting them in the school bus then we will be doing so,” he said.

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