President Irfaan Ali on Monday said that he hopes teachers will show leadership and get vaccinated as the government prepares to reopen schools in September.
“We cannot expose children to unvaccinated teachers,” the President stated during a press conference on the 1st anniversary since his government was elected.
The President did not explicitly say vaccination for teachers would be mandatory, but said “teachers are responsible enough” to understand the need for vaccination.
Dr Ali restated his commitment to ensure that once the government secures the Pfizer vaccine, it would be provided to children.
“We expect children to take it,” the President stated, saying the vaccine would first be rolled out to older children first.
In an Address to the Nation prior to the press conference, the President made an impassionate appeal for all to get vaccinated.
“All of us should be troubled by those who refuse to be vaccinated.
“The unvaccinated are now as deadly as the virus itself for they are not only greatly susceptible to infection, they will carry it, the others, crippling or killing their own families, their friends and their co-workers,” the President stated.
Thus far, 547 lives have been lost and Guyana has recorded over 22, 619 infections since the virus reared its head in March 2020.
And with the emergence of the other variants of the virus, trouble is far from over, and he warned of the dangers of not getting vaccinated.
“Our hospitals will not be able to cope, nor will we be able to bury the dead. If the Coronavirus were allowed to infect the unvaccinated and spread throughout the country.
“We are in a war with an unseen enemy. We have no idea when and where that enemy will turn up with lethal force. Consequently, we must fortify ourselves against penetration deny the enemy victims, and build up our strength through vaccinations to repel the repel, before we can defeat this enemy and win this battle,” the President stated.
He added: “Consequently, we must fortify ourselves against penetration deny the enemy victims, and build up our strength through vaccinations to repel the repel, before we can defeat this enemy and win this battle and return to the life we enjoyed.”
The government has also introduced COVID-19 preventative measures including updated measures for vaccinated persons.
