Teachers from the Guria region are getting COVID-19 vaccination as part of a joint campaign by UNICEF and the Government

Ozurgeti, Georgia, 18-19 September 2021 – UNICEF continues to engage educators and school administrators in the COVID-19 vaccination programme. More than 200 teachers from Guria region learned about the benefits and the importance of COVID-19 vaccination through information sessions organized by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science and the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health. The sessions were led by prominent doctors and public health experts and were attended by the educators from Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti and Chokhatauri municipalities. As frontline workers, it is important that teachers have access to vaccinations for safe school reopening.

The sessions were led by a new group of prominent medical experts, including: Maia Gotua Prof. MD. Ph.D. General Director of the Center of Allergy and Immunology, Vice President of Georgian Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology; Mamuka Bokuchava Prof. MD. Ph.D. Vascular Surgeon, Deputy  Director  Of  Bokhua  Memorial  Cardiovascular  Center; Nino Kiknadze Associate Prof. MD. Ph.D. Director Of Clinical Services at Raymann Clinic; Levan Vashakidze MD. Anesthesiologist, Head of Anesthesia departments of Bokhua Memorial Cardiovascular Center and the New Hospital. UNICEF Deputy Representative Amy Clancy addressed the teachers focusing on the importance of safe reopening of schools.

During the sessions the doctors and healthcare professionals covered a variety of topics including: COVID-19 immunization trends in Georgia and current situation regarding the virus; the importance of immunization and COVID-19 complications, including among children; vaccination of people with chronic diseases and allergy conditions. The teachers were invited to get vaccinated on the spot, following the informational sessions. Most teachers participating in the event got their vaccines.

Since May 2021, UNICEF has organized 19 similar meetings in different regions of Georgia for local community leaders, including teachers, doctors, religious leaders and tourism sector representatives, to engage them in the national vaccination programme. More than 1000 teachers got vaccinated following the sessions, on the same day. The teachers have since spread information about the benefits of vaccination in their communities, resulting in higher rates of vaccination.  As a result of joint interventions, as of 31 August 2021, the number of teachers fully vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 9% to 46%. UNICEF, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science and with support from NCDC, plans to organize 42 meetings for more than 3000 teachers to be vaccinated by the end of the year.

Schools are central to children’s development, safety, and well-being. The risks to children, while they are out of school, are greater than the risks to them while in school, for three key reasons:

1. The impact of school closures on students’ learning, health, and well-being at critical developmental stages have profound repercussions on children, their families, and their economy. Many of these children will never catch up.
2. With risk mitigation measures in place, schools are safe environments for children. The latest evidence shows that schools do not drive the spread of COVID-19 in the community and that COVID-19 does not pose a high risk to children.
3. School closures have the greatest negative impact on the most vulnerable children, those who are far less likely to have access to remote learning and more likely to be exposed to violence, abuse, neglect, child labor, and other risks.

Closing schools must be a temporary measure of last resort in pandemic response; and schools must be the first to open and the last to close. Assessing the risk of transmission at the local level should be a key determinant in decisions on school operations.