Vaccination campaign for children between 12 and 18 years of age

"People are revolting today," a neighbor said very early when she noticed the coming and going of people around the site that would be a vaccination center for children between 12 and 18 years of age on my block. And it's true. The process that began this Wednesday throughout the province has been welcomed with great joy by families in general; for this reason, more than one vaccination center looked like an anthill when its doors opened.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- There will be three punctures, two with Soberana 02 and another with Soberana Plus, in a cycle of 28 days between each one; and that includes a universe of more than 41 thousand adolescents from Las Tunas. That means we are closer to returning to the classrooms... and our routines.

Although, Doctor of Science Jorge Luis Reyes Izaguirre, provincial deputy director of Education, insists that this return will not mean that the sanitary rigor in schools is left behind. And he also emphasizes that it is a voluntary process, those who do not want to vaccinate their children are not obliged to do so, and they will have no limitations to return to the classrooms.

The province is already organizing the return to school process. And that everything we are experiencing is complicated, it is. Just think that in Las Tunas, this Friday, for example, the students of terminal grades who started their vaccination cycle first began to receive the second dose of “Abdala.” And they will be back in the classroom around October 4th.

But, next Friday, the youngest, between two and 11 years old, also begin to receive their first doses of Soberana 02; who will return to General Education schools around November 17; and add, for more intensity of work that, in the midst of all this, the province does not stop the vaccination of the adult population in seven municipalities. A happy madness that immunizes the herd and saves the future.

WHAT WILL THE RETURN TO THE CLASSROOMS BE LIKE?

That is a question that begins to resonate in some familiar spaces. And Reyes Izaguirre also spoke with 26 on the subject. The manager reminded us that the province of Las Tunas was the only one in the country that managed to conclude the 2020-2021 academic year in all its municipalities, and that is a great advantage. Above all, if we analyze with a cool head and see that the course that our children finished is the same that many others have not even started.

“We have planned different variants for the return to the classrooms. It is indicated by the Ministry that Primary Education students will have a different schedule. Those in grades one, four, and six will go to school three days a week; and those who study in second, third, and fifth will attend two days.

“That is more complex in the semi-boarding schools. Therefore, they will talk with the family so that the most flexible hours are maintained and those who have the conditions to do so can return home at noon.”

“Likewise, the family is concerned about the situation of the schools. Many of them are in function of Public Health; the same as field hospitals, respiratory infections clinics, or convalescent centers. And that is a very delicate matter that we are working on."

“Some will return to their functions before November and, of course, they will be disinfected, before the arrival of the boys, with all the rigor that the current situation demands. In which the Health work is maintained, as we will look for variants. For example, the students of the Preuniversity Vocational Institute for Exact Sciences will remain in the preuniversity schools of their municipalities, and some schools will share premises with others, as long as the situation requires it."

"Not letting our guard down in the care of students, and understanding that each site has its peculiarities that require specific decisions are among the keys of this entire process."

But before that happens, it will be necessary to conclude with what gave rise to the uproar in the neighborhood. Cuba is now starring in the first pediatric vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in the world. If we have done that amid scarcities of all kinds; the rest, together, will also be possible.