February 2, 2022

09:02

Iury Lima – Cenarium Magazine

VILHENA (RO) – At least six city halls in Rondônia have already informed that the proof of vaccine application against Covid-19 in children will not be charged by municipal institutions for the return of educational activities. This is the case in Porto Velho, Vilhena, Ariquemes, Jaru, Cacoal, and Ji-Paraná. 

In the capital, the first municipality to take a stand, classes for students enrolled in approximately 57 schools should resume on February 9th, a Wednesday. Although there is no requirement for child vaccination, parents of students who have not taken any dose of the available immunizers will be prohibited from entering the units.

The return is mandatory for kindergarten students, elementary schools and, also, for those enrolled in educational institutions for young people and adults (EJA). 

According to the Municipal Department of Education (Semed), the vaccine passport “for parents, will be required because of the executive decree, which prevents access to departments and public buildings for those who have not yet been vaccinated against Covid. In addition, only students with documentary proof of infection by the disease will be able to attend through the remote system. 

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the municipality has about 50 thousand children from 5 to 11 years old who can take the vaccine. However, the doses are being destined, initially, to those older than 8 years old, a group formed by 11 thousand children.

Vilhena

In Vilhena, the main city in the Southern Cone Region of Rondônia, the adhesion of children’s vaccination coverage has been low, with about 500 doses applied before the 1,200 doses received by the city.

In the last 24 hours, the Municipal Health Department (Semus) confirmed 390 new cases and two deaths by Covid-19, reaching the total of 17,473 residents who have tested positive for the disease since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Other municipalities

The low demand for pediatric doses has also been recorded in other municipalities where there will be no requirement for proof of immunization. This is the case of Ariquemes, with a return in person scheduled for February 7; Ji-Paraná, which immunized only 4% of the child public, and Cacoal, with 19,593 Sars-Cov-2 records. 

In the case of Jaru, the problem is the lack of doses. With about 5 thousand students enrolled, the municipality received only 700 units of vaccine, 600 of which have already been applied. 

Situation in the countryside

Counting Porto Velho, Rondônia is formed by 52 cities. In the interior of the state, each municipality has the autonomy to decide on the return in person, considering the local indices of the disease.

In the city of Costa Marques, for example, with a population of less than 20 thousand inhabitants, the return will initially happen remotely, a model that will be extended until March 9th. Soon after, the hybrid system will begin, whereby the classes take turns with 50% of the students in classes in person, and the other 50% online, in a weekly rotation.

“As for the children’s vaccines, we have no position on mandatory vaccines. Who will define it is the Health agencies”, informed the Municipal Department of Education and Culture (Semec) of Costa Marques to CENARIUM.