<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nnew schoolyear has officially started on September 13 for the entire secondary
\neducation system. This time around, it has been decided that the physical attendance
\nin classrooms should prevail over online tuition. Consequently, one of the
\nofficial scenarios jointly elaborated by the Healthcare and Education
\nMinistries stipulated those classes will begin with physical attendance when,
\naccording to the COVID-19 infection ratio, six and less than is six people in
\n1,000 inhabitants are reportedly infected with the COVID-19 virus. There is,
\nhowever, a second scenario, whereby online tuition will be resumed when more
\nthan six people in 1,000 inhabitants get COVID-19 infected. The rationale
\nbehind the physical attendance scenario says that pupils’ results the previous
\nschool year were worryingly below par, since for their greater part, children
\nwent online for their classes. However, irrespective of the scenario, sanitary
\nmeasures are a top priority. The authorities have assured us they would provide
\ndetailed explanations for the measures in place, to the best of their
\nabilities. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
National Education Minister, Sorin C\u00e2mpeanu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There will be one person in each school whose job is to facilitate the
\nmeeting between the medical staff and the parents, so that they can answer
\nvaccination-related questions and, obviously, bring arguments in favor of complying with the
\nsanitary measures. We begin with the ear-loop mask, which is mandatory on the
\npremises, then there is the physical distancing, to be observed wherever
\npossible, then classes need to be aired properly and hygiene measures will
\ndefinitely have to be observed. Concurrently, we will also enact those
\ninformation activities whereby we present the importance and the necessity of
\nthe vaccination, since vaccination is the only act by means of which we can
\nstem the crisis.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However,
\nspeaking about the pace of the vaccination process as of late, the Minister
\nadmitted the progress was very slow. Three days before the classes kick-start,
\na little bit over 15% of the pupils aged 12 were vaccinated, whereas 61% of the
\ntotal number of national education system employees were vaccinated with both
\nshots. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Minister Sorin Campeanu tells us how
\nthe issue will henceforth be broached:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In our scenarios, there is no difference between the vaccinated pupils
\nand those who are not vaccinated. If an official minister’s executive order
\noutlining the scenarios in their broader scope had made that difference with no
\nbasic legal grounding, we would have broken the discrimination law. We
\nunderstood that quite all right. Which doesn’t mean no legal grounding will be
\npossible to encourage discrimination from that perspective as well. In a
\nseparate move, if infection cases are reported in a classroom, that definitely
\nis in the scope of medical protocols. A differentiation is being made, between
\nvarious infection cases, which applies to pupils who are older than 12 and who
\ncan be vaccinated and who, should they get the shot and express their wish to have
\nphysical attendance, they are being given that opportunity. There is yet
\nanother scenario we have created, that of limiting the online teaching period
\nto a half, should an infection case be reported. After a week, in the eighth
\nday, if the previously infected pupil turns up for the test and if he tests negative,
\nphysical attendance in that particular school can be resumed beginning that
\neight particular day and not in the 15th day, as it had been
\npreviously stipulated. So the quarantine period has been reduced. The
\nopportunity has been created in order to reduce the online teaching period. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The
\npresent reluctance regarding the vaccination of pupils also depends on the
\nparents’ attitude, which changed during the pandemic, according to a recent
\nonline survey. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Paediatrician Mihai Craiu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This year, we noticed it in this prospective survey tackling parental
\nperception and which was carried following a questionnaire that was given out
\nfor three days and to which more than 1,290 Romanian parents responded, most of
\nwhom were mothers from urban areas, higher education graduates. We noticed a
\nsignificant drop in the percentage fear of the adults who responded to the
\nsurvey, to get COVID-19 infected. As regards the fear of children in a family,
\noccurring in the event of an infection, the percentage has seen significant
\ndrop, from 76% to almost 50%. The fear percentage has dropped to a greater
\nextent as regards children, and that, most likely, is the outcome of the fact
\nthat a great many adults have already been vaccinated.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
That
\nis why, in the COVID-19 vaccination info campaigns, it is important that
\nparents are told what the effects of vaccination are, as detailed as possible. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Medical doctor Mihai Craiu:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It is safety we need to speak to parents about. Nearly 5 billion shots
\nhave been administered worldwide. The figure is indeed stout, since there is no
\nother modern vaccine to have been given, in less than a year since its
\nadministration began, in such a tremendous percentage and with no gross signs
\nof adverse effects. There are obviously paediatric-related safety issues. A
\nmyocarditis-related warning is in place, especially with boys, but, quite
\nunlike the affection caused by the SARS-COV virus itself and, subsequently, by
\nthe paediatric multisystemic inflammatory system, such a warning symptom is extremely rare
\nand much less severe. In effect, with Caucasian children, so with such children
\nas those from Romania, who were in good health prior to vaccination, no such death
\ncase has so far been reported.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Being
\nfully aware of everybody’s right to made their own decision for themselves and
\nfor their families, the Parents’ Association Federation has so far refrained
\nfrom making a downright recommendation, for or against the vaccination. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The president of the Association, Iulian
\nCristache:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That is a much too intimate, a much too private thing for us to make a
\nrecommendation, as a federation, for people to get vaccinated. What we can do,
\nthough, is to support parents through these information campaigns we have
\nalready initiated, both with the Education Ministry and the Romanian
\nGovernment. We carried campaigns with the educational units, we had meetings
\nwith general school inspectors at county level where we had video conferences
\nwith school principals participating, as well as with the parents who had
\nenough spare time for that. I just want my attitude to be extremely balanced,
\nwhen it comes to the vaccine, since it is in no way an easy decision to be
\ntaken. Such a decision must be taken at family level alone. What we can do is
\nask the two ministries to send in their specialists at the level of educational
\nunits and inform the parents, so that each parent can decide for their own
\nchild.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To
\nthat end, Iulian Cristache has spoken about how they did it in his own family: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My and my wife got vaccinated as we were aware that, at least judging by
\nthe info we get, it is the only way by means of which we can still protect
\nourselves from the virus. Anyway, we got infected and we had a 14-day home
\nquarantine that is why we know it is not easy to go through that unpleasant
\nexperience. But my daughter, who will be 16, did not want to be vaccinated. We
\nhad a talk, and she decided to hold on for a while, to wait, without, however,
\nsaying she did not want to get vaccinated. As we speak, for a short period of
\ntime, at least, she doesn’t want that, and the moment she decides she will let
\nus know and will take the vaccine.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Concurrently,
\nboth parents’ association representatives and other educational experts have
\nemphasized the fact that one of the reasons of families’ reluctance to
\nvaccinate their children has to do with the wide range of antagonistic opinions
\nexpressed in the mas-media and on the social networks, considering how safe
\nthe vaccine is, for people’s health. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translation by Eugen Nasta)<\/p>\n
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