Vaccination is a proven and cost-effective measure for fighting Covid-19. Schools are an important part of families’ everyday lives, and they are well-positioned to teach about, link to, or even distribute vaccinations. The Govt. of India has recently stated that COVID-19 vaccination can be administered to youngsters aged 15 and up. Only with parental consent can the vaccination for school students be administered. The NSN Group of schools places a high value on student health and safety. They follow all the covid protocols in their campus as well as sanitize each and everything, creating a safe environment for students.
Vaccination for school students
Schools in Chennai are fastening their seat belts to take the vaccination drive to the next level by vaccinating all their students. Taking the immunization in accordance with the government of India’s standards would safeguard the children aged 15 and up, as well as give protection to kids leaving their homes to attend school. The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has established immunization guidelines for children aged 15 to 18. However, Covaxin will be the vaccine of choice because it is the only vaccine having an Emergency Usage Listing for the age range 15 to 18 years old. Following the outbreak of the Omicron variant, not only children but also family members will be protected by the vaccine campaign. For many COVID-19 vaccine-related initiatives, forming alliances might be beneficial. Local health agencies, municipalities, and health professionals can partner with schools in the safe and sound delivery of vaccines.
Facility check
Now let us first check the facilities that are required for a school to become a temporary vaccination center for its students. For the safe delivery of vaccines, school officials must provide a waiting space, vaccination chamber, and monitoring space. The district task team determines the number of immunization centers. All COVID-19 protocols shall be adhered to. School officials must compile a list of pupils to be vaccinated on a specific day in advance and notify them of the time given to them. The school administration must guarantee that all pupils have registered on the COWIN site the day before the vaccination. The vaccination team will include a medical officer from the Health Department, a vaccinator, a staff nurse, and school-provided support staff. All vaccines must be documented on COWIN.
Children with fever and other illnesses should not be vaccinated. Following the vaccine, the children must be monitored for 30 minutes. A method to manage adverse events following immunization (AEFI) will be implemented in each center to handle any health issues that children may have as a result of the vaccine. If children experience any difficulty, they should be transferred to the appropriate AEFI management center. For this, schools should plan for an ambulance with oxygen assistance.
Road to vaccine confidence
“Vaccine confidence” refers to people’s faith in prescribed immunizations. Families in the school community may be sifting through a lot of information and misinformation right now to make COVID-19 immunization decisions. It will be helpful if the school prepares to answer questions and dispel myths about the vaccination with kids and their families by creating or sharing resources from trustworthy sources. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prepared some helpful guidelines for discussing COVID-19 vaccinations. It will be helpful to parents and students if the schools consider compiling a list of commonly asked questions (FAQs) concerning vaccinations. It must also include any planned efforts to vaccinate employees, students, and their families and incorporate vaccination fact sheets with additional information provided to parents and caregivers, as well as material posted on school and district websites. All Schools in Chromepet, one of Chennai’s most populous regions, must consider vaccinating their pupils as soon as possible.
Covid-19,a teachable period
Schools excel in teaching students. Diseases and vaccination conversations and teachings must be age-appropriate and engagingly incorporated into a range of subjects. It will give a learning effect if we look for methods to include pandemic knowledge and vaccine science information into the school’s program. It must explain simple facts about germs and viruses with young children, as well as ways to lessen the probability of illness. It will be good to combat COVID-19 and vaccination disinformation with media literacy courses. A school must also give pupils knowledge of the pandemic and its cultural consequences. NSN Chitlapakkam which is one of the most prominent Schools in Chitlapakkam has already started educating its students about the vaccination benefits.
Welcome vaccination
Schools have welcomed the vaccine effort, claiming that it will secure campuses in the middle of the pandemic and protect kids from sicknesses, ultimately allowing physical education courses to resume. “Most people over the age of 18 have been immunized.” There will be expected incidences of vaccination resistance from parents due to their concerns about immunizations. As a result, there is a larger need for motivating workshops for both parents and children, and “Regardless of how much hesitation and protest from parents, the schools must assure 100% conformity with government rules. All the pupils, without exception, must be vaccinated within a certain time frame.” The NSN Schools had already started educating the children about vaccination.
Head towards herd
Herd immunity occurs when a large number of people in a community are inoculated against a certain illness. Diseases cannot easily transmit from person to person when this occurs since most individuals are immune. Even individuals who cannot be vaccinated, such as neonates, benefit from this layer of protection against the illness. Herd immunity also helps to reduce outbreaks by making disease distribution more difficult. The illness will grow increasingly, eventually vanishing totally from society. Now that the pandemic is approaching the endemic stage, it is vital to vaccinate the majority of the population, especially vaccination for school students is essential so that we may bid farewell to Covid-19 without inflicting any further harm.