Go slow on Covid jab for school children

The 14-year-old was admitted to Kiruddu Referral Hospital with body swelling shortly after he was allegedly vaccinated at St Martin Secondary School, Mpigi, in the last week of February

What you need to know:

  • Schools must go slow with children. This is not like buying uniform or paying fees that schools can enforce at will

The Ministry of Health last week maintained that vaccination of children 12-17 years will only be undertaken with the consent of parents.

In a clarification, the ministry said the country only had Pfizer vaccines for children aged 12-17 years and that the exercise for school-going children will only be during the holiday season. When that time comes, parents will be requested to willingly take their children for the jabs.

The message should already be very clear for any school administrators and parents. But recent events would suggest otherwise. This newspaper reported last week that some parents had been left in despair after their children were vaccinated without their consent (See Daily Monitor June 17).

It is easy to understand where some schools are coming from in the face of the vaccines for the respiratory disease that has messed the global order in the last two years. But it is inexcusable to panic. It is inexcusable to take unilateral decisions. And it is inexcusable to usurp the rights of parents and guardians.

While the intention of vaccines is always for the common good of both the individual receiving them and the community within which they exist, the rights of underage persons squarely fall on the shoulders of their parents or guardians.

Regardless of the common good, it is prudent that school administrations intending to carry out the exercise goes slow and only follows the guidelines from the Ministry of Health.

Vaccines, even for adults, have always been a sensitive issue that draws a lot of emotions from parents. For instance, when the government rolled out the Measles-Rubella and Polio immunisation campaign in Mayuge District in October 2019 and implemented it countrywide thereafter, there were a lot of emotions, especially from parents.

The intention of vaccination campaigns have never been to harm. No government surely would want to harm its own citizens, worse still, the children. But there will always be fears in the people and when it comes to children, the emotions can be stronger.

There will be many factors to consider before a child is vaccinated and that is why the Ministry of Health has to be in the driving seat in consultation with parents. Last year, the ministry’s recommendation for vaccination of children aged 12-17 was to consider underlying medical conditions.

With Covid-19 infections surging in the country again, some schools might be forced into panic since the government has in the face of the pandemic pushed hard to enforce mandatory vaccination.

However, schools must go slow with children. This is not like buying uniform or paying fees that schools can enforce at will. Their responsibility on the matter of Covid vaccination is limited. The Ministry of Health should lead.