BREAKING NEWS…Vaccination of school children from 12, begins month end

GUYANESE STUDENTS FROM 12 YEARS OLD WILL BE INOCULATED WITH THE
PFIZER-BioNTech vaccine from August 31 st in the local fight against the deadly corona virus and to
reopen schools across the country.
However, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Dr. Marcel Hutson said in an advisory, that parental
consent is first required for students to get the protective COVID-19 jab.
Consenting parents are required to complete and sign a Ministry of Education-provided document
“and return it to the head-teacher at your child’s school,” Dr. Hutson said in a document dated August
11, and making its rounds on social media Sunday.
Parents will ink the consent document which states “I am willing to have my child administered the
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 when it becomes available”.
Hutson tied the inoculation of the school population “towards the possible reopening of schools”
expected on September 6, nationwide.
“To ensure that the school-age population is protected from the coronavirus, the Ministry of
Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Health will be making this vaccine available to all
students 12 years and older from the 31 st August 2021 as we work towards the possible reopening of
schools,” the ministry’s release advised.
The CEO assured parents that the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for those in the 12 to 18 age
group and “will prevent your child from becoming very ill or becoming hospitalised if they do
become infected with the virus.”
“However, some minor side effects may develop which include headache, fever, tiredness, joint pains
and tenderness in the vaccination site, all of which are the normal reaction of the body while it is
improving the immune system,” he advised.
Hutson didn’t quantify the doses of the Pfizer vaccine the Guyana government has so far secured,
neither did he lay out a schedule of the MOE inoculation plan. www.aroundtheregions.com is unsure
whether the plan will be rolled out simultaneously in the 11 Education Districts, or has been
prioritised according to Regions.
All students will need two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 21 days apart to be fully inoculated, the MOE’s
advisory told parents.

“The data collected and reviewed thus far by the Ministry of Education indicate that there is a high
degree of learning loss taking place among learners who are out of school. Added to this, give we are
to lose another school year, we may not be in a position to reverse the damage that will be done,” the
advisory noted.
“However, we can now safely get your child back into the classroom as quickly as possible, once
parental consent is given for him/her to be vaccinated,” the advisory to parents said.
It said the Pfizer-BioNTech has a 100 percent efficacy rate and “robust antibody response
among adolescence”.