Time For Schools To Reopen In Phased Manner: India’s COVID Panel Chief

New Delhi: Reopening educational institutions is one of the most debated subjects in India at present.

A vaccine for adolescents (12-17 years) has been approved for emergency use in our country but won’t be rolled out before October. A possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is also a concern, especially as several experts have said it could affect children more.

On Wednesday, the head of Union government’s working group on COVID-19 said the time has come for schools to resume classes in a phased manner.

National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) chief Dr NK Arora, however, advised that parents and other family members of school students should get themselves vaccinated against COVID-19.

He also suggested that teachers, members of non-teaching staff and drivers of school buses and car pools should be vaccinated to create a protective ring around the students.

He added that “children don’t get a severe disease or get very sick with Covid-19.”

Significantly, Union Health & Family Welfare minister Mansukh Mandaviya earlier in the day urged states and union territories to get all school teachers vaccinated on priority before September 5.

Higher classes in schools of some states like Odisha have reopened recently. But the response has been quite lukewarm.