Doc in favour of vaccinating children

The idea of extending COVID-19 vaccines to some of the island’s children is receiving support from one of the coordinators of the National Vaccination Campaign. However, this would mean the authorities would have to be able to source and store World Health Organisation (WHO) approved Pfizer vaccines.

Dr. Elizabeth Ferdinand believes that such an initiative, particularly for students ages 15-18 who are among the most likely spreaders of the disease, could significantly improve the country’s overall public health situation.

The suggestion is also receiving support from President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) Mary Redman who believes this approach could reduce the tremendous disruption to education over the course of the pandemic while simultaneously advancing the country’s goal of herd immunity.

During a media conference on Friday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley indicated that the procurement of more vaccines, including those for teenagers, would be actively discussed at the level of the social partnership.

“Yes, there is vaccine hesitancy but I must tell you there are larger and larger numbers of people who initially said, ‘no’ when I discussed it with them two months ago, who are now saying ‘when can I get and are we likely to get Pfizer as well,” said Prime Minister Mottley.

“They are asking all kinds of questions and they are asking for their children as well, teenagers in particular. So I am confident that the social partnership will come to a resolution,” she added.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Dr. Ferdinand revealed that the Pfizer vaccine is the only one currently approved by the WHO for children, and even then, it is only available for those over age 12.

“I personally am in favour. If we can and do get the Pfizer vaccine, we would have to include some of those children in the community,” the vaccine coordinator declared.

“The committee has not discussed it, we don’t have any Pfizer at the moment, so it’s not actively on the table because we can’t give Pfizer if we don’t have it.

“But the thought is that if we do get it, certainly the children between 15 and 18 should be offered it to get vaccinated because they are the ones in secondary school, they are out and about, they are the partyers, things like that. So they will certainly be high on the cards for having a dose of Pfizer if we get it,” she added.

Earlier this week, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley revealed that his Government would be seeking to vaccinate “the secondary school population” if Pfizer vaccines are made available through a recently-signed arrangement with the Government of the United States of America.

Efforts to reach Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training Santia Bradshaw were unsuccessful, while General Secretary of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Herbert Gittens said he would reserve comment until there were further discussions with members.

Although BSTU President Mary Redman admitted the matter had not yet been widely discussed, she expressed confidence that they would favour any arrangement that could make their environments safer.

“It is something that would definitely offer us greater protection, all users of school plants, and that is to say nothing of the protection that it would offer the wider society,” Redman told Barbados TODAY.

“We know that the vaccine reduces the risk of transmission. We know that it reduces the effects of the illness if you get sick because none of them provides 100 per cent coverage, but we know that they reduce the risk of severe illness and of death.

“The students, in particular, the quality of their education has suffered despite the best efforts of teachers, the students themselves and parents, where the limitations on online instruction or hybrid instruction have resulted in the deficit that we have seen both at the primary and secondary level. A vaccinated and far more protected population potentially reduces the risk of that type of threat to students’ learning,” the union president contended.

Even if these options become available, Redman argued that a public awareness campaign tailored for children ought to be introduced, after which the students’ freedom of choice ought to be respected.

“The choice to be vaccinated or not should remain, because I think with the appropriate type of sensitisation, objective facts and figures offered, there should be the type of response from the Barbadian population that would be required. There is undisputed evidence that more and more children are being infected by the various variants and developing long-term repercussions,” Redman explained.

“So if these facts are made available for persons to peruse and to think upon, I do not think there will be a big problem in getting our children vaccinated,” she concluded.

(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)