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Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 06, 2021 (SKNIS): Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Hazel Laws said that for schools to return to a sense of normalcy, parents and adults have to get vaccinated.
The CMO was at the time speaking at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) COVID-19 Press Briefing on May 05, 2021.

She said that the COVID-19 Pandemic interrupted schools in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2020 and some of this disruption still continues.

Dr. Laws noted that the Washington Archibald High School and the Basseterre High School are still on a shift system where students are assigned to either a morning or afternoon shift.

“This really means a shortened time in which to cover the curriculum,” she said. “So in other words, our students have lost significant time in terms of covering their academic curriculum and some students are struggling with learning during these challenging times.”

It was against this backdrop that the Chief Medical Officer encouraged parents and adults in the population to come on board and accept the COVID-19 vaccine as they will be helping to keep children in the classroom.

“This is very important because if the adults come on board and accept the vaccine and we are able to achieve the herd immunity threshold of 70 percent, then if perchance there are clusters of cases or community transmission the risk of spreading the virus would be reduced and we may not have to close schools down, we may not have to revert to virtual or remote learning,” she said. “So ladies and gentlemen, indirectly if you come on board and accept the vaccine you will be helping to keep your children, our children in the classroom.”