The Sindh health and education departments have announced to start a Covid-19 vaccination campaign in the schools and colleges of the province from September 6 to vaccinate 1.4 million students.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah co-chaired a meeting on Monday that was attended by Parliamentary Health Secretary Qasim Soomro, Health Secretary Kazim Jatoi, Education Secretary Akbar Leghari and other officials through video link.
The meeting reached the decision that the health department’s 2,527 teams would participate in the vaccination drive against the deadly pandemic. During the campaign, about 1.4 million students from grades nine to 12 would be vaccinated against the disease.
In the first phase, the vaccine campaign would commence at the district level which would later be extended to a sub-division level.
The forum also decided that the school administration would contact the children’s parents and seek their consent whereas parents should be taken into confidence for the vaccination.
“Registration should also be ensured once the vaccine is completed.” the provincial health minister said. He said that vaccination will be necessary for the continuation of the teaching process and for the safety of children. The health department would be responsible for making arrangements of Covid-19 vaccines in the educational intuitions, he added.
Schools across Sindh resumed classes on Monday as per a notification issued by the provincial School Education and Literacy Department. According to the notification, schools shall remain open six days a week, with 50 percent attendance of students on alternate days.
