By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 20th August 2021) — Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education William Hodge said that if parents do not want their children to be vaccinated, “as far as the Ministry of Education is concerned, there is nothing we can do. We leave that for the law makers, the legal authorities, the competent authorities, the government to decide what will happen.” He was speaking on ‘Leadership Matters’ on ZIZ on Tuesday 17th August 2021, responding to questions about whether all teachers are vaccinated and what the Ministry would do about vaccine-hesitant parents. “What I would say is that we will cross that bridge when we get to it, but certainly I would want to encourage teachers, parents and adults who work with children to get vaccinated,” he added.
Regarding the vaccination status of teachers, Hodge said candidly: “Not a significant number of teachers have been vaccinated.” He pointed to data from the Ministry of Health, saying the data looked at not just teachers but all persons working in schools — school meals staff and other Ministry of Education departments. He encouraged teachers to get vaccinated especially as schools prepare to return to face-to-face instruction. Of the 558 COVID-19 cases on St. Kitts during the outbreak from 19th May to 3rd August, 113 were children: 11.2% were aged 0–9 and 12.6% were aged 10–19. Thirty-one of those students could not write their CSEC or CAPE examinations in July/August because they or someone in their household contracted the virus — a tremendous setback that now means they must wait until January or June 2022 to write their examinations. Hodge commended the government for securing the Pfizer vaccine that can be administered to children and youth aged 12–18, and noted the Ministry of Health will partner with the Ministry of Education to roll out Pfizer vaccination. Children under 12 remain unable to be vaccinated and continue to depend on parents, guardians and teachers for protection.