School Reopening: Teachers, students with medical conditions must be vaccinated, says WHO

Many of the state governments in India including Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Bihar have also started issuing guidelines for the reopening of schools, colleges and other education institutions. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF have suggested that teachers and other school staff should be among the priority group for vaccination against COVID-19 disease. In a joint statement, the two United Nations (UN) have stated that schools to be among the last places to close and the first to re-open.

As millions of school children return to school the WHO regional office for Europe and UNICEF Europe and Central Asia regional office has called for schools to stay open and be made safer by adopting measures to minimise transmission of the virus.

These measures include offering teachers and other school staff the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the target population groups in national vaccination plans while ensuring vaccination of vulnerable populations.

Measures for reopening of schools

Suggesting measures for reopening of schools, the UN bodies have also suggested that children aged 12 years and above who have underlying medical conditions that significantly increase their risk for put that at greater risk of severe COVID-19 disease must be vaccinated; improvements to the school environment through better classroom ventilation, smaller class sizes where possible, physical distancing and regular testing of children and staff, are other important actions.

“The pandemic has caused the most catastrophic disruption to education in history. It is therefore vital that classroom-based learning continues uninterrupted across the European Region. This is of paramount importance for children’s education, mental health, and social skills, for schools to help equip our children to be happy and productive members of society,” Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe explains.

“It will be some time before we can put the pandemic behind us but educating children safely in a physical school setting must remain our primary objective, so we don't rob them of the opportunities they so deserve. We encourage all countries to keep schools open and urge all schools to put in place measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 and the spread of different variants,” mentions the statement.

Threat of COVID Delta variant

As per WHO, The highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant has added an additional layer of concern and complication to this year’s school opening season. The high incidence of COVID-19 in the community makes transmission in schools much more likely. It reads: “Therefore, we must all commit to reducing the transmission of the virus.”

Data clearly shows that receiving a full COVID-19 vaccination series significantly reduces the risk of severe disease and death. Therefore, when called to take the vaccine please do so and make sure you complete the full vaccine dose series.

Philippe Cori, Deputy Regional Director, from UNICEF Europe and Central Asia said: “The pandemic is not over. We all have a part to play to ensure that schools remain open across the Region. Children and youth cannot risk having another year of disrupted learning. Vaccination and protective measures together will help prevent a return to the darkest days of the pandemic when people had to endure lockdowns and children had to experience disruption of learning.”

He said that a school is so much more than a building. It's a place of learning, safety, and play at the heart of our communities. When they are closed, children, miss out on learning, being with their friends and maybe exposed to violence in the home. The pandemic worsened an already unacceptable situation - we must ensure that schools reopen, and they stay open safely.”

Expert recommendations

To help keep schools open and safe, WHO, UNICEF, and UNESCO have endorsed a set of eight expert recommendations for schooling during COVID-19.
Schools to be among the last places to close and the first to re-open.
Put in place a testing strategy.
Ensure effective risk-mitigation measures.
Protect children’s mental and social well-being.
Protect the most vulnerable and marginalized children.
Improve the school environment.
Involve children & adolescents in decision-making.
Implement a vaccination strategy designed to keep children in school.

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