Saturday 21 / December / 2024
Muscat: School-going students aged 12 and above have started receiving COVID-19 vaccines, as part of Oman’s efforts to vaccinate them before the start of the new school year.
The campaign, which is expected to run for three weeks, targets 320,000 students from private and public schools across the country’s 11 governorates, with 90,000 students shortlisted for vaccinations in Muscat alone.
Vaccinating the new target groups got off to a positive start: on the first day of immunisation, Tuesday, August 3, vaccination centres such as the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre in Madinat Al Irfan saw good turnout from those eligible for the jab.
“It is important that students who come to us are above the age of 12,” said Dr Lamia Al Balushi, the head of the epidemiological investigation team at the Directorate General of Health Services in Muscat Governorate.
“Those who have been in contact with COVID-19 patients, or have respiratory diseases, are requested to reschedule their vaccine appointments until their symptoms have subsided.”
The campaign to immunise students is being jointly run by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.
The vaccination of students continues alongside the Ministry of Health’s efforts to inoculate the other target groups in the country, which includes providing second doses to those who have taken their first shots at least 10 weeks prior.
The OCEC and Quriyat Health Centre are the two main locations in Muscat where vaccinations are being administered. They are open from 8 am to 2:30 pm from Sunday to Thursday.
People in Oman, who wish to be vaccinated, need to register themselves on the Tarassud app, or through the ministry’s website, www.covid19.moh.gov.om. Registration is mandatory, as it allows for smooth and uninterrupted vaccination of people.
On entering the site/app, those who wish to register for the vaccination must first fill in the governorate and wilayat they live in, and are requested to provide their date of birth and ID card number.
Once these details have been provided, people must sign a vaccine declaration form indicating their willingness to take the jab. Subsequently, on receiving a one-time PIN, registrants will then be able to select a vaccination centre of their choice, and their preferred appointment date.
They will then be sent an appointment letter that they can bring with them on the day of their vaccination.
Oman recorded 309 fresh infections of COVID-19 on Tuesday, and reported nine new deaths from the disease, according to the Ministry of Health statistics.
So far, 297,431 people have tested positive for the disease, since the start of the pandemic, while 280,927 people have recovered from the virus. Sadly, however, 3,877 people have succumbed to the coronavirus.
The country’s COVID recovery rate stands at 94.5 per cent.
Over the last 24 hours, 35 people were admitted to hospitals to seek treatment for COVID-19. There are 210 people currently in intensive care, of the 485 patients currently in hospital.
Earlier, the country’s Minister of Health, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, had said there were plans to vaccinate all eligible students before the start of the school term, so that they could continue their education normally.
