Outreach teams sent to schools may also give shots to parents, says school principal

The government’s outreach teams sent to schools to give jabs to students can also help vaccinate student’s parents, said a school principal.

Authorities earlier said they are considering sending teams to schools to administer Covid-19 jabs, after lowering the age limit for the BioNTech vaccine to 12 years old.

Speaking on a radio program this morning, Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association's honorary chairman Langton Cheung Yung-pong said the government is in talks with the academia over the arrangements of the outreach program.

“The vaccination would require schools to provide spaces for storing the vaccines, manpower would also be needed to give the jabs. It would be more cost-effective for schools to have a certain amount of people getting the jab instead of only a few showing up,” he said.

“For example, only primary six students from the primary schools are eligible to get the jab. It would make the outreach program more efficient if parents are also allowed to get the jab.”

Cheung also suggested schools not suitable to carry out the outreach vaccination on campus to make reference to the School Dental Care Service, grouping students to get the jab at community vaccination centers altogether.

Meanwhile, a member of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation Dr Chui Yat-hung, said incentives should be provided for students to get the jab, suggesting that the jab can be seen as a prerequisite of going for overseas exchange.

He also suggested that the outreach program can be made a joint-school program in order to maximize its efficiency.

However, he said schools should not require students to get the jab for resuming face-to-face classes, which would seem like forcing them to get vaccinated.