The Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs is looking at vaccinating students aged 12 to 16 in the island’s schools, something which, according to the minister, Patricia Gómez, would be “an achievement” if it were done before the start of the 2021-2022 academic year.
In statements to the media, the Mnister of Health commented that her department is working to vaccinate this group of students before the start of the new course, although she pointed out that it depends on whether Primary Care “agrees”, as well as on the number of vaccines arriving in the community.
Gómez hopes that last Wednesday afternoon’s meeting of the Interterritorial Council will clarify whether a specific plan should be created to vaccinate students aged 12 to 16 before the school year starts, as so far work has only been done on the vaccination strategy for the 16 to 30-year-old age group.
He added that a “significant” number of vaccines are required to vaccinate the Balearic Islands’ 12 to 30-year-olds this summer: “It wouldn’t make sense to make 20,000 appointments to vaccinate 285,000 people, that would generate frustration and a backlog when it comes to making an appointment.”
Formentera would be the island to start with
Gómez suggested that a rapid vaccination campaign for these age groups could be carried out on the likes of Formentera in the coming weeks, given that on the smallest of the Pitiusas “they have a different health system”.
According to the minister, the percentage of cases of the British variant on the islands has been reduced, which accounts for around 70% of infections, although the presence of the New York, South African, Brazilian and Delta variants has also been detected.
Asked about collaboration with private and mutual clinics on the islands to accelerate the rate of vaccination, Gómez applauded the offers received provided that these processes can be adjusted to the required criteria, such as the conservation of vaccines, traceability and the availability of sufficient staff to take on these functions.