Vaccinating schoolchildren

At the present, getting coronavirus jabs is the only prevention we have against Covid-19. Since the novel coronavirus is highly contagious, it is necessary to inoculate the maximum number of people. Unfortunately, there are people everywhere in the world who, either due to the influence of anti-vaxxers or due to their personal predilections, are reluctant to receive the vaccine, so it is the unvaccinated because of whom others, including the fully vaccinated, run the risk of falling victim to the dreaded disease.

Thus the authorities in Pakistan have regularly been exhorting people to get fully vaccinated against coronavirus, and their efforts have borne fruit as so far 90 million doses of vaccines have been administered in the country. Now the federal government has asked parents of schoolchildren of age 12 and above to get their wards vaccinated. The government has announced that school and seminary students should take the first dose by Oct 31 otherwise they will not be allowed to attend classes. By Nov 30, pupils should be fully vaccinated, as from Dec 1 they will not be allowed to enter schools and seminaries. To quote PM’s adviser on health, it has been observed that children of school-going age are super speeders of coronavirus.

Experts are of the opinion that the coronavirus pandemic can be controlled by vaccinating 70-90% of the population, and have warned that lapse in vaccination might result in nth wave of the pandemic. Around 20% Covid-19 patients need hospitalisation. Those who are avoiding vaccination should realise that our healthcare system does not have the capacity to handle such a large number of patients. The authorities, meanwhile, should also tell people about the side effects of anti-Covid vaccines. Last week, a school student died in Vehari after receiving the corona jab. Mystery surrounds the boy’s death, though. This death has raised doubts about the vaccine nonetheless.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2021.

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