60% of Abu Dhabi private, charter school staff vaccinated against COVID-19

Abu Dhabi: About 60 per cent of the staff at Abu Dhabi’s private and chartered schools have received their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement, the emirate’s education sector regulator, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), said nearly 15,000 educators, school staff and their family members had received their vaccines during a ten-day vaccination campaign. Held between January 17 and January 26, the campaign had reached out to 222 private and chartered schools in Abu Dhabi city, Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

To kick off the campaign, more than 400 Adek team members and their relatives had taken their first doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at the Adek headquarters. Each participating school was then designated a day to conduct vaccinations on campus, with professional health workers administering the shots.

The Adek statement said that the vaccination drive had been conducted in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health (DoH) and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre. It was part of the continued nationwide efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 and ensure optimal health and safety within the school community and across wider society.

“Our utmost priority is to ensure the health and safety of our education and school community, and to support the government’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. This is our national duty and our community has demonstrated unwavering support for the vaccination drive, with 60 per cent uptake across eligible schools and personnel. We applaud our stakeholders’ commitment to aid the UAE’s vaccination agenda in support of a return to normal life,” said Ayesha Al Blooshi, Adek COVID-19 incident management team lead.

Following their first dose, all school staff and teachers have been briefed and provided with specific dates for their second doses of their vaccination.