Roxana Badaloni
06/10/2021 12:26 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 06/10/2021 12:27 PM
Argentina advances in the immunization of teachers against the coronavirus as a priority to resume school attendance.
However, because it is a
voluntary decision
, there are some who have refused to be vaccinated.
In Mendoza, for example, the Ministry of Education reported that almost 10% of the teachers summoned to the vaccination campaign expressed their opposition.
However, it is not the only province where this situation occurred.
According to a survey with the provincial authorities carried out by
Clarín
, in Santa Fe there is a percentage similar to that of Mendoza that was not recorded: 10%. But in other districts, that rate is higher: in Córdoba 12% have not yet registered and in La Pampa it rises to 18%. In the city of Buenos Aires, between 3% and 5% of teachers chose
not to get vaccinated for personal reasons
.
The Buenos Aires Ministry of Education explained that out of 110,000 teachers and non-teachers, 96,000 were vaccinated. At the end of stage 4, where the educational personnel were, they called some 13,000 people who were not registered and who could be vaccinated. There it was learned that there were teachers who had been vaccinated in other districts, such as the province of Buenos Aires, and that some had not signed up because they had to wait 15 days after the flu vaccine. A third group, between 3% and 5% of the total, chose not to get vaccinated for personal reasons.
In the province of Buenos Aires, 59% of the 512,000 people listed as teaching and non-teaching personnel have been vaccinated.
This percentage reaches 80% of the teaching staff in the interior and 55% in Greater Buenos Aires, according to data from the Buenos Aires Government.
It was not reported how many of the total list are those who have not wanted to be vaccinated.
In the province of Santa Fe, 10% of the teaching and non-teaching staff did not sign up to be vaccinated.
The report of the provincial government indicates that the register has 94,291 people, while the registered are 83,046.
The total number of vaccinated in the education sector, excluding universities, reaches 90%.
In Córdoba, meanwhile, teachers from the initial, primary, secondary and special education levels were summoned and 88% of a registry of 86,243 people were vaccinated.
"To the 12% of teachers who did not appear in the first call, the province returned to turn them for a second call," reported the Cordovan government.
La Pampa immunized 4,758 teachers, representing 54.6% of those enrolled.
And of the total teaching staff, which is 10,754 agents among managers, teachers and non-teachers, 2,014 did not want to be vaccinated.
That shows that
more than 18% chose not to get vaccinated
.
In Santiago del Estero 20,657 teachers of initial, primary and special level were vaccinated. 65% are vaccinated with two doses and the rest with one. In the case of secondary level teachers, 7,130 are vaccinated, a cycle that just begins with the first dose. Despite the high percentage of immunized, classes in Santiago del Estero are
virtual at all educational levels
.
The official information from Mendoza focused on the personnel working in education, but complications, delays or resistance to signing up are also observed in other sections of the so-called "target population."
In fact, the Buenos Aires government last week enabled free vaccination, without a shift, for those over 70 who have not yet registered.
According to data from the Kicillof administration, even in the countries where the vaccination process reached further,
20% of the population did not receive their dose
.
Vaccination at the Aconcagua Arena in Mendoza.
Photo: Orlando Pelichotti / Los Andes
Distrust and fear
The general director of Schools of Mendoza, José Thomas, explained that, out of 60,000 teachers, there were 5,600 who
stated in a public registry that they did not want to be vaccinated
.
When consulting the reasons, many said that due to "ignorance, distrust and fear", Mendoza school authorities maintain. Now, they hope that with more immunized people, some teachers will
reverse their position and decide to get vaccinated
.
With the arrival of more vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sputnik V, the Mendoza government came out to convene them and they have allocated exclusive spaces and days for teachers.
"We are taking turns for those who had a problem and have not been able to get vaccinated or those who have changed their minds and now agree to get vaccinated," said Thomas.
This Thursday a
vaccination day
is being held
for teachers
at the Arena Aconcagua stadium, in the General San Martín park, in the city of Mendoza.
Next Saturday, teachers and non-teachers over 20 years old, belonging to Greater Mendoza, have been summoned.
In total, 35,000 workers have been inoculated, including teachers, administrators and teachers.
About 40% have already received both doses and the rest, only one.
In Mendoza, classes are face-to-face by bubble system (every other week or every 15 days) and
the priority has been to vaccinate teachers from initial to secondary level
.
Tertiary and university teachers who are working from virtuality have not yet been summoned.
Safe vaccines
The director of Immunizations of Mendoza, Iris Aguilar, recalled that resistance to receiving the Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina only lasted a few weeks.
He warned that when society saw that health personnel were vaccinated without serious adverse reactions, the majority began to accept it.
Regarding the three vaccines that are being applied in the country (AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Sinopharm), Aguilar said that “they are all 100% safe and effective to prevent serious forms of coronavirus, even effective at the initial level with a single doses, with levels ranging from 80% to more than 90% in the case of Sputnik V ”.
The specialist, who is a member of the Argentine Society of Vaccination, defended the national program: "No one would incorporate a vaccine into a vaccination campaign if we were not sure of its clinical profile and its efficacy."
With information from Sebastián Clemente (CABA), Mauro Aguilar (Rosario), Gustavo Laurnagaray (La Pampa), Fabián Debesa (La Plata) and Julio Rodríguez (Santiago del Estero).
Mendoza. Correspondent
AS
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