Mumbai: Last week the Karnataka government made it compulsory for parents of school and college-going children to be vaccinated with both doses. While affected parties across Karnataka were surprised with the decision, those in Maharashtra thought the decision was pragmatic.
Rita Balachandran, faculty at JBCN International School Borivali said, “To me, it is a decision which will encourage more parents to come forward to take care of our safety along with our child’s safety. It’s like in the plane when they say you put your oxygen mask first before putting it on for your child in case of emergencies. Since we can be carriers of the virus, if we are vaccinated we can take care of our protection and then protect our children.”
The parent of a ten-year-old who goes to VIBGYOR High School, Pune, Mrs Kajal Dhulla said, “I think this is a good step taken by Karnataka Government. What I have noticed is that many people are still not taking vaccination seriously. I asked my maid about her vaccination status and she said SHE took one jab but forgot the date so not going for the second one. If the Maharashtra government takes a step like this it might turn into positive that they will get vaccinated for the sake of their kids’ education. But this might turn into another direction and they might not send their kids to school.”
Free Press Journal also interacted with a doctor to understand whether this decision of the Karnataka Government made sense or not. Doctor Tarala Meisheri, a Physician, said, “It definitely is a good step. Not only Maharashtra but I would say all the states should make this mandatory.
Although it’s not yet confirmed whether Covishield and Covaxin would be effective against the new variant Omicron, it can shield you from the existing one and if parents are not vaccinated, kids have higher chances to get infected from them which will again be a threat to the other children in the school.”
