Many parents favour COVID jab for students — Education Ministry

AMMAN — More and more parents are in favour of vaccinating their children above the age of 12 against COVID, according to the Ministry of Education.

“Over 136,000 students have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while over 102,000 students have received both doses of a COVID vaccine,” Najwa Qubailat, secretary general at the Ministry of Education, told The Jordan Times. 

“We aim to vaccinate 1.2 million school students against COVID-19. We have noticed an increase in demand for the vaccination from parents and students,” Qubailat said. 

She said the ministry is expecting the demand for the vaccine to increase further after the launch of a nationwide awareness campaign. The campaign is organised by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, according to Qubailat. 

She said that school students are considered “the most vulnerable category to COVID-19”, however, the ministry does not obligate any student to take the vaccine. Although, based on the recommendations of the Epidemiological Committee at the Ministry of Health, school students above the age of 12 are advised to take both doses of a COVID vaccine, the official added.

“Over 96 per cent of teachers and school workers have received two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine,” Qubailat noted.

According to Qubailat, teachers and school workers are advised and not “obligated” to take the booster shot of the COVID vaccine. However, Defence Order No.35 of 2021 states that as of January 2022, non-vaccinated individuals are not allowed to enter any public department. 

“I’m hesitant towards giving my kids the vaccine. I believe that the side effects of the vaccine are still unknown,” Muna Khatib, a mother of two, told The Jordan Times. 

Abeer Nimri, who is also a mother of two, said that she believes in medicine and science.

“I don’t really know what’s in my pain killer, all I know is that the painkillers cure my headache, so does COVID-19 vaccines,” Nimri stated. 

She said that both of her daughters got vaccinated based on their family doctor’s advice. “It is a doctor’s job to tell us whether to take the vaccines or not,” Nimri added. 

“A lot of research has been conducted on the vaccines, big organisations like the World Health Organisation and the Food and Drug Administration have approved the vaccines,” Hamzeh Mahmoud, a father of three, told The Jordan Times.

“I gave my kids the vaccine because I don’t want to take a chance of getting any of my kids sick. At least we now know that vaccinated individuals are less likely to suffer from oxygen shortage or being admitted to a hospital,” Mahmoud said.