(Trinidad Express) – With the arrival of 305,000 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines in Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says schools will finally be able to reopen after almost a year and a half of closure if parents consent to have their children vaccinated.
Rowley issued an appeal to parents during a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s on Saturday to bring their children who are within the 12-to-17 age group out to get vaccinated.
Last week, T&T received the donation of Pfizer vaccines from the United States, which the US Embassy said was the first batch of more than 908,000 vaccines it intends to donate to this country.
The Pfizer vaccine is the only Covid-19 vaccine approved for use in children 12 years of age and older.
“While we are looking to open schools in September… our first priority is to vaccinate them in a serious way,” Rowley said.
The Prime Minister said he was sure there are parents who will not want to have their children vaccinated, but he expressed hope that the majority would listen to the health professionals and make the right choice.
“You do not want to be the parent who refused the vaccination that’s available for free and then one day you are told that your child is positive, your child responds badly, is in an ICU, and then you start asking ‘what have I done?’ Please, parents, don’t be that parent.”
Principal Medical Officer Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards noted that there has been a slight increase in the number of children testing positive for Covid-19.
“This is serious business,” Rowley stated. “Now that our children have the opportunity to have these vaccines, let us ensure that they are vaccinated so that we can bring them out to school.”
Rowley said once vaccination of schoolchildren begins, schools should be reopened three weeks later, so that most would have received their second dose of the vaccine before returning to school.
He added that the focus would first be on bringing out pupils who are preparing for exams—secondary school pupils in Forms Five and Six, and primary school pupils in Standards Four and Five.
Vaccination of children is expected to begin this week.
Rowley also noted that T&T has sufficient vaccines in stock so that every person who wants to be vaccinated can be vaccinated.
