[UPDATED] Ministry rolls out plan for students to receive Pfizer jabs

Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry would be in touch with principals and the public on Friday with details of the vaccine rollout for secondary school students aged 12 and over.

In a WhatsApp response to Newsday, Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry is happy that children in Trinidad and Tobago now join adults in having access to vaccines.

“We have been tracking the many countries that have been able to restart physical school, even in the presence of the delta variant, and a critical layer of protection has been the vaccination of children 12 and over, along with high rates of vaccine uptake in the adult population. We are happy that our children in TT now join the adults in having access to this opportunity.”

“The Ministry of Education is heartened by any measure of protection that can be offered to our children against covid19. Educational continuity is paramount, and though online teaching is the best arrangement that can be offered when physical school is not available, it is globally acknowledged that it cannot replace the face-to-face interaction that our young people so desperately need.”

Gadsby-Dolly made the statement after the arrival of 305,370 doses of the WHO-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine donated by the US on Thursday. The vaccines arrived at the Piarco International Airport at 7.58 am.

The arrival was witnessed by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, US Embassy chargé d’affaires Shante Moore, and Caribbean Public Health Agency executive director Dr Joy St John.

The Prime Minister said on July 17 that should the US donate Pfizer vaccines, these would go first to the secondary school population.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved by the WHO for use in children. The WHO said a Phase 3 trial in children aged 12-15 years showed high efficacy and good safety in this age group, leading to an extension of the previous age indication from 16 years onwards down to age 12 onwards. It said evidence suggests that adolescents, particularly older adolescents, are as likely to transmit covid19 as adults. It said children 12-15 years of age with comorbidities that put them at significantly higher risk of serious covid19 disease, alongside other high-risk groups, may be offered vaccination.

TTUTA First Vice-President Marlon Seales said the association did not have a position on the vaccines currently, as there had been no time to have a discussion since the arrival of the vaccines.

“We recognise that the procurement of the vaccines is in an effort to further the agenda of the Education Ministry to enable schools to reopen safely, and we applaud the government’s efforts in that respect. However, at this time as an association we don’t have a particular view on the arrival of the vaccines.”

He said he was sure the subject would arise during a meeting with the Education Minister on Thursday.

“We have a meeting with the minister concerning the reopening guidelines, and we anticipate that as part of that meeting the conversation will begin where we discuss the arrival of the vaccines and what it would mean for the reopening of schools.”

Speaking in his capacity as representative of the Concerned Parents Movement of TT, NPTA president Clarence Mendoza said parents still had reservations about approving “such drugs” for their children.

“Concerned parents continue to call and WhatsApp their feelings about the reopening of schools, stating that they will be keeping their children home until next year. They say they are concerned about the government making it available to students ages 12-18. Students ages 5-11 years will not be vaccinated but asked to wear a face mask. There are concerns of the Delta variant entering the country and the classroom at this time, especially as a great percentage of parents and teachers to date have not been vaccinated.”

Mendoza said the comments ranged from straight opposition to the vaccine being given to children, to parents being willing once they got an all clear for a doctor, to full acceptance and eagerness for children to get the vaccine.

Gadsby-Dolly said there are 80,177 secondary school students in the public school system. A 2021 Unesco Institute of Statistics report said there were 92,658 students between the ages of 12 and 16.

Between 2019 and 2021, an average of 19,235 students sat the SEA examination. There were 18,849 in 2019, 19,201 in 2020, and 19,656 in 2021.

For the same time period, an average of 22,924 students sat the CSEC exams. There were 21,636 in 2019, 24,136 in 2021, and 22,999 in 2021.

In 2020 and 2021, an average of 8,445 students sat the CAPE exams, with 8,497 registered in 2020 and 8,392 registered in 2021.

This story was originally published with the title "School vaccine rollout details to be given on Friday" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry would be in touch with principals and the public on Friday with details of the vaccine rollout for secondary school students aged 12 and over.

In a WhatsApp response to Newsday, Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry is happy that children in Trinidad and Tobago now join adults in having access to vaccines.

“We have been tracking the many countries that have been able to restart physical school, even in the presence of the delta variant, and a critical layer of protection has been the vaccination of children 12 and over, along with high rates of vaccine uptake in the adult population. We are happy that our children in TT now join the adults in having access to this opportunity.”

“The Ministry of Education is heartened by any measure of protection that can be offered to our children against covid19. Educational continuity is paramount, and though online teaching is the best arrangement that can be offered when physical school is not available, it is globally acknowledged that it cannot replace the face-to-face interaction that our young people so desperately need.”

Gadsby-Dolly made the statement after the arrival of 305,370 doses of the WHO-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine donated by the US on Thursday.

The Prime Minister said on July 17 that should the US donate Pfizer vaccines, these would go first to the secondary school population.