Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday again appealed to parents to allow their children to access the Pfizer vaccine now available to them. And he has cautioned that if the Government does not achieve herd immunity among secondary school students by mid-September, they will have “no difficulty intervening on the children’s behalf,” as past governments have done with measles, mumps and “other aspects of healthcare where children can’t make the decision themselves.”
The PM made it clear that taking such a decision would not be done lightly but if they have to, they’ll do it.
Dr Rowley’s appeal was bolstered by news from the United States yesterday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, a move which the PM hopes will help boost public confidence in the vaccine’s efficacy against COVID-19. US President Joe Biden also similarly appealed to citizens to get vaccinated now that it had received gold-standard FDA approval.
For his part, PM Rowley hopes those who were hesitant will have a change of heart and help the student population reach the 60 per cent herd immunity being sought.
While the Government has signalled schools will reopen for Forms Four to Six come September, no date has been announced as Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says they will continue online schooling in order to measure the inoculation levels of students before going forward.
Dr Rowley says the Government has done everything to get children back to school and hopes this can happen by September. “Get your children vaccinated if you want them to participate in what they have not done for the past year and a half,” the PM begged citizens yesterday.
Government’s ability to resume physical schooling can only be achieved with the help of parents/guardians who have the responsibility for deciding the fates of the children.
As of now, Dr Rowley believes the country is in the best position it has been since the virus started with hundreds of thousands of vaccines available. Only last week, T&T received over 100,000 Johnson and Johnson doses, while the rollout of Pfizer has also started for children 12-18 and the administration of Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines continues.
Vaccines mean nothing unless citizens understand that it is the best way to protect themselves, their loved ones and to keep the cases and deaths down.
Cases across the world have been on the upswing because of the Delta variant. T&T has also recorded three cases of Delta in returning nationals and there is concern that the spread of the variant could spell disaster for this country.
As of yesterday, 486,399 people had received one dose of the vaccine, with 369,324 of those fully vaccinated having received both doses. In the 12-18 category, those vaccinated with the first dose were 2,064.
The Prime Minister’s mission to get children back into classrooms is commendable. Online learning has negatively impacted hundreds of children who have been unable to get access to devices. This cannot continue. Our children’s futures are at stake. The only ones who can stop the slide are the adults whose duty it is to guide our young charges. Let us think about our children.