Students step up to take the jab

A steady flow of school-aged children accompanied by their parents and guardians made their way to vaccination centres on Friday to receive their dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

And Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw is hoping that as the vaccination centres continue to be rolled out in communities across the island, parents who are uncertain about allowing the children to receive the jab, will realise there is no harm in relation to the “side effects” of the vaccine.

“There are 21 000 students, I believe, across the public and private schools who are to be vaccinated over this period. I would love to see all students vaccinated. I think over the course of the town hall meetings, it became very clear that Barbados has a proud history of vaccinating our children during immunization and ensuring that we eradicate childhood diseases, and I see this as no different. This is another form of ammunition that we have in order to fight COVID-19, and in particular in our young people. I have no doubt to continue to see an uptake in our students,” she said.

Speaking to the media at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Open Campus, one of the sites designated for the vaccination for children, Bradshaw reminded the audience that vaccinating children will play a major role in a speedy return to face-to-face teaching in the foreseeable future.

She said: “I think you are well aware as to the scheduled start to the school term, and every day the dynamics are changing, but we are planning full steam ahead to be able to have our students return to the classroom. We are hoping that the students will be fully vaccinated and so we may have to make some adjustments, but at this stage we are putting all contingencies in place. I think based on last year, you would appreciate that we had plan A, plan B, plan C and plan D. And I don’t think anything has changed when you look at what is happening across the region and when you look at our cases here. Parents and teachers have had to basically prepare for all eventualities.

“So, we are familiar with the online environment. If we have to work online, we are prepared to do that. If we have to, [we will] do a blended approach where some students are able to come to school because we understand the importance of doing face-to-face with the students. Of course, the ideal situation would be to get everybody face-to-face and a lot of that is going to depend on our ability to manage our cases in the country, which is why we have been appealing to Barbadians to get vaccinated.

The Education Minister indicated she was mindful that during the summer vacation, some students may have been home mixing with unvaccinated adults. She said authorities anticipate that this may create some issues when school resumes and have put contingency plans in place to address any challenges in that area.

Bradshaw also announced that the results for the 2021 Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (BSSEE) should be released between the end of this moth and early September.

Co-coordinator of the National Vaccination Programme, Major David Clarke, who was also at the location, explained that Barbadians’ willingness to get the Pfizer vaccine could possibly be attributed to the fact that it has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

He said that just under 5,000 people have received their first dose of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine. The Chinese government donated 30,000 doses of that vaccine to Barbados.

Major Clarke also disclosed that there are people who have been fully vaccinated who are making attempts to get additional doses.

“The dangers of doing this is that our medical committee has not yet approved any third dose or any booster shots. We can only give you a first and second shot of the same vaccine. It has not been approved for us to give you mixed vaccines in Barbados at this point in time. If that changes then we will let you know,” he said.

Major Clarke said significant efforts are also underway to issue certificates to persons who have been fully vaccinated.

Barbados TODAY visited a number of the centres where students waited patiently with their parents. A number of parents indicated they made the decision to have their children vaccinated because they want to protect them from getting severely ill, should they contract COVID-19.
(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)