PRIVATE schools in the country are encouraging parents to get their children inoculated against the coronavirus (Covid-19).
The national vaccination campaign is pacing ahead with more than a million people receiving at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine until Sunday. A total of 823,459 have received two doses.
The country last month approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12- to 17-year-olds to be administered in two doses, becoming the second in the GCC to authorise the jab for youngsters, after the UAE.
British School of Bahrain (BSB) executive head John Maguire said the rapid deployment of vaccinations for youngsters aged 12 to 17 was reassuring, adding that almost 50 BSB students had already taken their shots.
“While we believe that the choice to vaccinate children lies with their parents, we have encouraged all BSB families to be vaccinated and to overcome this pandemic collectively,” he told the GDN.
“Together we are stronger, and it is this collective strength that will protect us all.”
Mr Maguire stressed his ‘strong belief’ that immunity through vaccination, combined with precautionary measures, would help the country overcome the pandemic.
“The uptake of vaccination among BSB staff has been incredible – more than 95pc of them have been fully inoculated.
“This, combined with our stringent measures and daily Rapid Antigen Tests, allows us to provide as safe an environment as possible for children aged three to 18.”
He said parents have been informed in writing about the vaccine’s availability and asked to notify the school when their ward/s received their first dose.
“Already we have had more than 50 students receive their vaccinations, and more are being called for appointments every day.”
The New Indian School also issued a circular on the need for children to get inoculated.
Meanwhile, St Christopher’s School Principal Dr Simon Watson said the institution would follow all official guidelines on vaccinations.
“We recognise that, as of the present moment, vaccination of children between the ages of 12 and 17 remains a parental decision,” he said.
“Should the Education Ministry make it mandatory, we will, of course, comply.
“We support the vaccination programme and recognise the incredible efforts of the Bahrain government.”
A senior academic at the Indian School Bahrain (ISB) also said its teachers were encouraging students to take the jab.
“The vaccination details will be collected later; which is, once the second dose is completed,” said the teacher at the largest private school in Bahrain.
“We will be issuing forms on Microsoft Teams to collect the details.”
Asian School Bahrain (ABS) director Lovy Joseph welcomed the decision to vaccinate youngsters, noting the move came only after the Health Ministry studied the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Studies show that this gives them (children) protection from Covid-19, as we are getting closer to normalcy,” said Ms Joseph.
“We will definitely encourage parents to make an informed decision to get their children vaccinated, if they are eligible.”
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