Efforts to vaccinate all school children in Oman by mid-October

Muscat: It is expected that by mid-October all students will receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education said in an interview with Oman TV.

Dr Abdullah bin Khamis Ambusaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, confirmed that the new academic year will begin with two direct and integrated systems in accordance with health procedures and in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

The Undersecretary added that “we do not want to rush the matter and return directly to education because the health situation is still not clear. Our coordination with the Ministry of Health and with the Supreme Committee’s directives regarding the operation of schools is permanent.”

On the Ministry’s preparations for the new school year 2021/2022, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education said that this year, about 70,000 new students will enter the educational system, and the Ministry is cautious about the issue of return completely to the education. The Ministry has developed a guiding framework that helps the educational directorates to implement precautions.

Regarding the possibility of the emergence of COVID-19 infection in schools, His Excellency said that since last year, the health protocol has been issued, which is the fruit of cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. The implementation of this protocol has avoided many problems inside schools, and infections during the last year were generally reasonable in light of the strength of the pandemic in that period.

“This year, the health protocol will continue to be applied, with some adjustments made according to the new data, in addition to the immunisation plan against COVID-19 in cooperation with the Ministry of Health,” he added.

“The immunisation rate among students in the various governorates of the Sultanate with a single dose reached about 90 per cent, or 305,000 students, and 28,000 of them received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. It is expected that by mid-October, all students will receive two doses of the vaccines, thus we would have avoided the impact of the coronavirus,” the Undersecretary said.

He has appealed to parents to hurry in vaccinating their children, because there is a possibility that they may not be able to enter the educational institution according to the decisions of the Supreme Committee regarding preventing the entry of unvaccinated people into government institutions.
In the event the parents refuse to cooperate, the Ministry will take the appropriate action in due time.