Issues with reopening Schools in T&T , Vaccines for Children etc

[adnj]

On the FB parents are going nuts over the prospect of sending their kids out for 2 days far less for 5 days like what I want.

Covid is not going to go away anytime soon, we need to send our children to school or be left behind by countries that are.

My kids did very well in school since the lockdown.
I have kids at both primary and secondary levels.
Their schools really did a great job at online schooling and the syllabuses were completed.

I understand that not all schools, students and parents have the ability or the facility to make the best of this situation so I am for a hybrid system or let the schools individually decide the best approach.

Regardless, I will let my kids take the vaccines once they are available to them because the safety is not just for school but for extracurricular and life on the whole.

I have a daughter in primary school and she is missing the social aspect of school which is very important. That was very formative for us today and we are depriving our children of it. Plus there is a class divide where middle and upper classes can afford supervision for their children at home but lower classes can't.

I fully support vaccinating parents, teachers and maybe teens, but we need to return to some sense of normalcy.

i would not give my teenage daughter any covid vaccine. let she learn online and away from perverted little boys and perverted old men. people dutty outside there.

You probably need to be running down Gardisil 9 instead of Pfizer for her. HPV will definitely be a problem.

LOL

Nothing was said that was remotely funny. The girl's risk of death by cervical cancer is significant.

“Breast and cervical cancer are the leading causes of cancer deaths in women and in Caribbean men, prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths, followed by lung cancer. This can have a significant negative societal impact in our Region.  Cervical cancer is perhaps the most preventable through education, screening, early detection, treatment and vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV), and Caribbean countries must work towards the elimination of cervical cancer,” stated Dr Joy St John, Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). 

https://carpha.org/More/Media/Articles/ ... -of-Cancer

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Schools opening full 5 days a week from September 6th, the recent Pfizer donation of 305K doses by the US is the basis for this decision since it gives children ages 12 and over an opportunity to get vaccinated. Delta and all variants are of no concern once you are vaccinated.

The basis for whose decision?
How can all students possibly be fully vaccinated by September 6th?
It will take a while to give the first shot and then wait 3 or more weeks for the second shot.
Your maths not mathsing.

There will also be an even bigger hesitancy wall as already sceptical people will be even more sceptical of having their children take the vaccine.

The decision to bring students back out to school on September 06th was made before we got that donation of 305K doses of Pfizer since we had no idea we were actually getting them at least not in August. So if the decision was made to bring students back out for 2 days a week without knowing when Pfizer would be available to students, what decision you think is now possible that Pfizer is available for students to take?

Alot of students can get vaccinated by September 06th and if not the remaining ones can get vaccinated during school days with permission to be absent to get it and return to school the next day. Aren't regular working adults working jobs right now in the same situation with regards to getting vaccinated.

Do you have kids in school?

No decision was made.
There was a draft document put out by the Ministry of Education proposing plans for school to reopen with face-to-face classes and/or a hybrid system.
There was a similar draft document for opening in September 2020 also but that didn't happen.
The term begins on Sept 6th regardless as it did last school year.

[DMan7]

Schools opening full 5 days a week from September 6th, the recent Pfizer donation of 305K doses by the US is the basis for this decision since it gives children ages 12 and over an opportunity to get vaccinated. Delta and all variants are of no concern once you are vaccinated.

The basis for whose decision?
How can all students possibly be fully vaccinated by September 6th?
It will take a while to give the first shot and then wait 3 or more weeks for the second shot.
Your maths not mathsing.

There will also be an even bigger hesitancy wall as already sceptical people will be even more sceptical of having their children take the vaccine.

The decision to bring students back out to school on September 06th was made before we got that donation of 305K doses of Pfizer since we had no idea we were actually getting them at least not in August. So if the decision was made to bring students back out for 2 days a week without knowing when Pfizer would be available to students, what decision you think is now possible that Pfizer is available for students to take?

Alot of students can get vaccinated by September 06th and if not the remaining ones can get vaccinated during school days with permission to be absent to get it and return to school the next day. Aren't regular working adults working jobs right now in the same situation with regards to getting vaccinated.

Do you have kids in school?

No decision was made.
There was a draft document put out by the Ministry of Education proposing plans for school to reopen with face-to-face classes and/or a hybrid system.
There was a similar draft document for opening in September 2020 also but that didn't happen.
The term begins on Sept 6th regardless as it did last school year.

Wait for the official confirmation on Saturday when the PM comes on.

[adnj]

Schools opening full 5 days a week from September 6th, the recent Pfizer donation of 305K doses by the US is the basis for this decision since it gives children ages 12 and over an opportunity to get vaccinated. Delta and all variants are of no concern once you are vaccinated.

The basis for whose decision?
How can all students possibly be fully vaccinated by September 6th?
It will take a while to give the first shot and then wait 3 or more weeks for the second shot.
Your maths not mathsing.

There will also be an even bigger hesitancy wall as already sceptical people will be even more sceptical of having their children take the vaccine.

The decision to bring students back out to school on September 06th was made before we got that donation of 305K doses of Pfizer since we had no idea we were actually getting them at least not in August. So if the decision was made to bring students back out for 2 days a week without knowing when Pfizer would be available to students, what decision you think is now possible that Pfizer is available for students to take?

Alot of students can get vaccinated by September 06th and if not the remaining ones can get vaccinated during school days with permission to be absent to get it and return to school the next day. Aren't regular working adults working jobs right now in the same situation with regards to getting vaccinated.

Zero students 12 to 17 can be considered fully vaccinated by September 6. A minimum of 35 days after their first shot is required.

[Redman]

I think the online delivery is mandatory...even without Covid.
This is 2021.
Let parents have some flexibility as to how we start the term as the virus is dictating everything right now.
As we muddle through this more people will settle into their routines...those who adapt well to home school ...stay home...those who need the school environment...go to school.

I hope the ministry can use technology to standardize the content delivery...


I'm reading that Pfizer and Moderns vaccines are down in the 40% efficacy range.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/wake ... ction-july

The study found the Pfizer vaccine was only 42% effective against infection in July, when the Delta variant was dominant. "If that's not a wakeup call, I don't know what is," a senior Biden official told Axios.

[Mmoney607]

I thought we following WHO. So why conveniently, we change to CDC to "recommend" that the 2 year olds year mask?

[redmanjp]

So about 90k secondary school students plus first year university students.

https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ministry-eyes-monday-start/article_f2d73600-fbcf-11eb-95b1-37af92a842ff.html

Tens of thousands of school children are in line to get a Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 from as early as Monday.

Parents and school officials will be given details on the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for secondary school pupils over the age of 12 today, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly confirmed yesterday afternoon.

“We are working with the Ministry of Health and the target is to begin on Monday,” she told the Express via WhatsApp. Gadsby-Dolly said there are approximately 81,000 pupils in the public secondary school system and approximately 10,000 in private secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago. A donation of 305,370 doses of the World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Trinidad and Tobago from the United States at 7.50 a.m. yesterday. Speaking from Piarco International Airport, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh reiterated that the Pfizer vaccines will be designated for the specific age group of 12 to 18-year-olds.

He said: “These Pfizer vaccines will be used almost exclusively for our 12-to-18 cohort, that is secondary school and some in first year university because it is the only one that we have for that age cohort. “I’ve been having ongoing conversations with my colleague, Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly. (Yesterday) there was a technical meeting between Health and Education (ministries). If all goes well, we want to start administering these vaccines early next week once the Ministry of Education gives us the go-ahead but we do have to pre-plan,” he added.

Earlier yesterday, Gadsby-Dolly told the Express the ministry was “heartened by any measure of protection that can be offered to our children against Covid-19. Educational continuity is paramount and though online teaching is the best arrangement that can be offered when physical school is not available, it is globally acknowledged that it cannot replace the face-to-face interaction that our young people so desperately need.”

Gadsby-Dolly said in a phone interview: “We have been tracking the many countries that have been able to restart physical school, even in the presence of the Delta variant, and a critical layer of protection has been the vaccination of children 12 and over along with high rates of vaccine uptake in the adult population. We are happy that our children in Trinidad and Tobago now join the adults in having access to this opportunity.”

Also speaking at the airport yesterday, executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Dr Joy St John said “the timing of the arrival of the vaccines in the 15 Caricom countries is almost perfect so we are very pleased that the US government extended this welcomed gesture to the Caricom region...” The donation of Pfizer vaccines to arrive in the country was the first batch of almost 908,000 doses to come from the United States.

[sMASH]

I thought we following WHO. So why conveniently, we change to CDC to "recommend" that the 2 year olds year mask?

WHO expanded its emergency approval for pfizer to be given to 12yro and over.

[matr1x]

And no one accountable if they get it wrong

[sMASH]

And no one accountable if they get it wrong

i think under covax, ,, (could be a different system cause they using a lot of acronyms), if u get vaccine through that system, any individual can claim damages and get compensation, directly from them. on the who website.

[Habit7]

You probably need to be running down Gardisil 9 instead of Pfizer for her. HPV will definitely be a problem.

LOL

Nothing was said that was remotely funny. The girl's risk of death by cervical cancer is significant.

I thought you were implying secret promiscuity

[Habit7]

I thought we following WHO. So why conveniently, we change to CDC to "recommend" that the 2 year olds year mask?

You are right. WHO discourages children less than 5yrs from wearing masks only if a parent or guardian is in line of sight.

[matr1x]

And no one accountable if they get it wrong

i think under covax, ,, (could be a different system cause they using a lot of acronyms), if u get vaccine through that system, any individual can claim damages and get compensation, directly from them. on the who website.

On the government forms, there was a waiver for people to sign. So sucks to be you of you dead

[sMASH]

And no one accountable if they get it wrong

i think under covax, ,, (could be a different system cause they using a lot of acronyms), if u get vaccine through that system, any individual can claim damages and get compensation, directly from them. on the who website.

On the government forms, there was a waiver for people to sign. So sucks to be you of you dead

nah nah nah. well yeah. but its not that liability the covax set up for.
they designed it for situations just like this, where u cant guarantee 100% safety, but u need to get it out. so u set up ur compensation facility for individuals to directly get compensation for any negative effects that may occur. set up to not discourage govts from pushing it, for fear of liability.

https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-acc ... mpensation

[matr1x]

Anyone who got AZ in early July would have seen the form

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

You don’t get any compensation if you die from Covid either.

But you are much more likely to die if you get covid than to die from getting the vaccine.

[sMASH]

nobody putting covid in ur nose intentionally. but the vaccine fluid IS being put in by someone, and being encouraged to take it, so they set up a claims facility, directly from them.

and who ever die from covid, hard luck. should have masked up and sanitized.

[K74T]

[RedVEVO]

I will be sending my children out to school and I hope they have it 5 days a week. It is more deleterious to children's social and academic development to have them go another year without in-person education, especially for younger children. We can't be saying vaccinate to operate and when ppl vaccinating, we are moving the goalpost to operate. Covid is here for at least the next decade, we have to confront it and live our lives with guidelines, not fear.

When your pnm ppl killing and raping, don't pretend to care about children social development

Matrix take a win !

Agree X 100 Million

And starving them, insults that they greedy and saying they staging sleepless nights

[hover11]

Let the ministers give there kids it first, lead by example

FB_IMG_1628889053072.jpg

[K74T]

Let the ministers give there kids it first, lead by example

FB_IMG_1628889053072.jpg

It's "their kids" not "there kids".

[hover11]

Sorry for making my first grammatical error on tuner will not happen again sir....you make no errors

Let the ministers give there kids it first, lead by example

FB_IMG_1628889053072.jpg

It's "their kids" not "there kids".

[matr1x]

Kids are having a hard time dealing with masks when it's hot. There is a childless teacher saying she will not be teaching kids who can't keep their masks on properly and will write them up.


I tell she to her face to take she barren womb and get the eff out of there

[adnj]

Coronavirus case surges force school closures

Several counties across the U.S. have temporarily suspended school because of a surge in coronavirus cases among students and faculty early in the academic year.

Why it matters: Richard Besser, former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told NBC this week he believes more schools will close due to COVID-19 than last year because the Delta variant spreads with greater ease than other versions of the virus.

"I think this fall is going to be really challenging for schools," Besser said. "I expect that it’s going to jump around different classrooms, and schools will be forced to shut down more than they did in fact last year."


https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-surge ... a229e.html

[RedVEVO]

Kids are having a hard time dealing with masks when it's hot. There is a childless teacher saying she will not be teaching kids who can't keep their masks on properly and will write them up.


I tell she to her face to take she barren womb and get the eff out of there

Why you treat your madam so badly ?

Now go and apologize and be a good student today .

She is within her rights but wrong when it comes time to collect her salary

[matr1x]

I know her from our liming group. Mind you, she habitually calls her students dumb.

[hover11]

https://guardian.co.tt/news/big-pushbac ... 95def7b92e



Big pushback over vaccinating children for school
by

Anna-Lisa Paul
10 hours ago
Fri Aug 13 2021

With vaccinations soon to start on children 12 years and older, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is seeking feedback from parents on their level of interest.

However, there is already, a great degree of pushback by parents and other education bodies, to the idea.


The Ministry yesterday confirmed that in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MoH), they are “organising for the vaccination of students in Primary and Secondary schools who are between the ages of 12 to 18 inclusive.”

The Pfizer vaccine will be used.

Among those resisting the move is The Movement for Concerned Parents which said that of the 3,200 members currently registered with them, approximately 68 per cent are against vaccinations for children at this time.

“On the ground, parents are clearly stating that they are not getting their children involved in any vaccination process at this point in time,” head of the group Clarence Mendoza said yesterday.

Mendoza said parents had expressed misgivings that the vaccine would not prevent their children from contracting the virus.


“Parents are concerned that their child at this early age, especially those with only one child in the household, are saying they are not willing to take the chance to vaccinate. Instead, they are saying they prefer to keep their child at home and stay with the online classes as the case may be, but they are refusing to put their children’s lives in jeopardy at this point in time.”

“This is a parental decision which they must sit and discuss with their child by letting them know what this is about and getting the necessary information,” Mendoza added.

Speaking directly to those in charge, Mendoza continued, “We are looking to the Government of T&T to step up to the plate and know that a September opening for face to face, is a no-no.”

He added, “Parents are saying this is a no-no. They are asking for statistics from 2020/2021 to know how their children performed online and we are not seeing that. We have asked for it to be published and it has not been.”

He said a select group of educational stakeholders should not be allowed to make such major decisions for the collective as this remained “an experimental vaccine.”


“We should be going through due diligence in preparing the way forward for 2022 and not be looking to rush into 2021 without the answers from 2020. This is what parents are grumbling about and some of our teachers also, as there are persons who have not been vaccinated from this group either.”

Mendoza shared some of the responses from parents, showing scepticism.

“They’re changing their song every week and they want me and my child to take a vaccine, never,” one parent said.

Another added, “Since last year the Ministry suppose to engage in this discussion. It is not easy to manage and time collaboration money and effort from all stakeholders is required.”

A third parent said, “Anyone who insists on the physical reopening of school has to be MAD. Children under 12 cannot be vaccinated and NO vaccine is 100% safe to PREVENT the spread or contraction of this virus or any variant.”

The Ministry’s rollout plan advises members of the public that a link would be provided early next week for parents to indicate their interests.

An online link will be provided and call centres activated to allow parents/guardians to choose the venue, date and time of vaccination for their child/ward.

An appointment will be automatically generated upon completion of the online form and that parents/guardians must accompany all minors to receive the vaccine. They will also be requested to walk with identification, proof of relationship to child where required and an electronic birth certificate of the child/ward for age verification.

People authorised by parents to accompany students must walk with the letter of authorisation signed by the parent, a copy of the parent’s proof of identification as well as their own form of identification.

The decision to vaccination students for the reopening of classes has also been attracting a wide cross-section of views online.

Among them, the head of the Single Fathers Association of T&T, Rhondall Feeles.

“My boy is 14 and his mum and I asked him about it also. We are separated and co parent. His mum is a nurse and vaccinated. He does not want to be. I nor she will be the ones to instruct him to without having concrete evidence of his guaranteed safety. Unlike the other vaccines that we had given him as a baby this is an Emergency vaccine and whereas we as adults can make a decision to take that risk ourselves, we cannot exclude him from this decision-making process.”

Another person, San Dan said, “Vaccinate the children as much as you can but don’t return to physical schooling just yet. We’re no where near herd immunity.”

Gale Charles wrote, in response to a question on whether parents agree with vaccinating their children, “In a heartbeat!”

Pearl James revealed, “My son have heart problems do u think for a min I’m going to let my child take that and even if he was not like this I still will not . I know as a parent I want what is best for my child as everyone does but I’m making my choice not by listing to science or media I’m going with my motherly instincts on what’s best for my child and trust God in the process.”

Amanda Poyah stated, “We all had to be vaccinated to enter primary school and university, why stop now”.

Kesha Ramkissoon said, “I seriously don’t see the need to Rush children back to school ..the online schooling is best right now for all of us! The vaccine not stopping the spread so why put them out there? Why?”

Marla Villafana said, “yes, my child is doing it of her own free will,” while Michelle Foreman confirmed, “Yes, and my 12 year old has also stated that he wants to be vaccinated.”

A donation of 305,370 Pfizer vaccines from the US arrived in T&T on Thursday and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has previously said these vaccines will be reserved for use among children only as the authorities are hoping to physically reopen schools in September and resume face to face classes once students are inoculated.

At the secondary school level, only children between the ages of 12 to 18 will be eligible to receive the Pfizer injection which is the only vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for use in children 12 and older.

[Mmoney607]

No data collection that Guardian Media does in just a few days could ever equate to "a big push back"

[st7]

i agree with Habit7 that a social aspect is important for a growing child. it really sucks that a lot of students who started form 1 last year hasnt met their other classmates yet....

but the way things are and will be for another 6-8 months, the ministry of education (as well as the other ministries) have been very reactive. Delta is gonna cause another lockdown - no doubt about that -- why arent they trying to help underprivileged students/families with the desired technology and services needed for remote learning? because come september, if the shift system starts --- it probably won't last very long :/

[De Dragon]

No data collection that Guardian Media does in just a few days could ever equate to "a big push back"

Sampling an alleged 3200 member organization while screaming headline says "Parental Pushback" clearly shows what GML is more interested in.