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Covid vaccine UAE: 3,000 students, teachers get the jab

Abu Dhabi - Dedicated vaccination centres set up in Fujairah, Ajman for teachers and administrative staff.

Nearly 3,000 teachers, administrative staff and students at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE have received the Covid-19 vaccine as authorities intensified an integrated campaign to have all school workers in the UAE vaccinated.

The initiative organised in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHP) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) aims to make the vaccine accessible for educators and students.

The MoE announced on Twitter that a field vaccination centre was also set up at the Teacher Training Institute in Ajman (main building) for two days (January 13 and 14) from 9 am to 5pm for everyone from the education sector to take the vaccine.

Several groups were targeted for vaccination. These included; employees in the MoE and the Emirates Foundation for School Education, workers of private schools, government and private institutes and universities along with their families.

“Today, there has been a remarkable turnout of educators, employees and workers of the ministry to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Scores of educational staff flocked the place from morning to receive the vaccine, an indication of great awareness and concern on the part of this group to prevent the disease,” the MoE said in a tweet.

Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, said through his personal Twitter account: “There are great efforts made to provide the vaccine to everyone. There is coordination with health authorities at the highest level, and we are impressed by the responsibility and awareness of the many workers in the educational sector who were quick to take the vaccine.”

Earlier this week, the MoE in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Prevention said they have set up three dedicated vaccination centres in Fujairah and Ajman for teachers and school administrative staff to take the Covid-19 vaccine.

The centres administer the jabs to all teachers, employees of private and government educational institutions and students aged over 18 years. The vaccines have been made available for free at the centres for two weeks starting January 12.

The two centres in Fujairah are: Hamad Bin Abdullah Al Sharqi Secondary School and Dibba Fujairah and Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Sharqi Secondary School, Fujairah and are open from 9am to 3pm.

The MoHAP said on Wednesday that it was working on a plan to increase the number of centres offering the Covid-19 vaccine following the high turnout of people willing to take the vaccine.

"Surpassing the one million vaccine doses administered to the public in a record time is yet another testament to the community's trust in the efficiency and effectiveness of the measures taken by the UAE government,” said the MoHAP.

The country aims to vaccinate 50 per cent of its population in the first quarter.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com