Students get vaccine protection

"It is important to vaccinate animals, so why not people?" questioned Dr Osbil Watson, chief veterinary officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Watson was speaking with THE STAR at the vaccination site at Denbigh Primary School in Clarendon last Saturday. The veterinarian, who said he is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, took his daughter, Renee, to be inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine.

"As a veterinarian and the chief veterinarian in the country, I know the importance of vaccination in the prevention of diseases, and we do a lot of that in the veterinary field to save animals, even pets; and it's no different with humans," Watson said.

He added: "I've made it my duty to guide my daughter in the right way to have her immunised and have her protected."

His daughter said while she had no challenges with virtual school, she is anticipating the resumption of face-to-face learning.

The Government has began vaccinating children 12 years and older ahead of the start of the new school year in September. Thousands of persons have been attending vaccination blitzes, staged by the health ministry, at various points across the island.

At Clarendon College in Chapelton, best friends Khalil, Shamair and Javier were among the children who turned out for their shots.

"I know it's okay. We all took vaccines when we were younger, so it's okay," Javier Sweeney, 18, said getting the jab.

His friends Khalil and Shamair, Edwin Allen High School students, that were not planning to take the jab, but later changed their minds after being convinced by Javier about its safety.

The teens, who are footballers, told THE STAR that they are anticipating the return to face-to-face classes and the opportunity to represent their school in schoolboy football competitions.