Consumer protection society demands vaccine priority for teachers, school staff

AMMAN — The National Society of Consumer Protection (NSCP) has demanded giving priority to teaching and administrative staff in schools in taking the COVID-19 vaccine along with the medical and nursing staff.

As of this week, students in the kindergarten, grades one, two and three in addition to Tawjihi (the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination) will resume education in schools according to the protocol announced by the Ministry of Education. 

The NSCP called on parents to take all necessary measures to preserve the health and safety of the students.

Giving teachers the vaccine will reduce the number of cases, which will have a positive impact on the general epidemiological situation in the Kingdom, according to an NSCP statement sent to The Jordan Times on Sunday.

Mohammad Obeidat, head of the NSCP, said in the statement that parents must guide and educate their children before they go to schools in all matters related to public health such as physical distancing, mask wearing, use of disinfectants, use of sanitary paper and not sharing school supplies with classmates, which are necessary practices to preserve health among students.

“It is highly important for a health inspector to be present in all public and private schools in the Kingdom, in order to monitor the health status of all students as well as the teaching and administrative staff, Obeidat was quoted in the statement as saying.

Meanwhile, the head of the Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC), Salah Al Louzi, said that school transport companies will operate by the health measures and protocols applied in public transport, he noted.

Obeidat, in a statement, also stressed the importance of the activation of applicable defence orders against violators of health protocol as a way to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.