KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Fayval Williams, has declared that teachers are not being forced to take the vaccine against COVID-19 to make them eligible to return to face-to-face classes.

The Jamaica Teacher’s Association expressed concerns recently that some schools may be seeking to make vaccination compulsory before educators can return to a normal school setting.

Responding to a question from OBSERVER ONLINE this morning during a tour of the Dunoon Park Technical High School, which was one of over 500 schools reopened for face-to-face classes, Williams said while it is important for teachers to get the COVID-19 jab, the ministry has not yet given a directive on vaccination.

According to Williams, just over 7,000 teachers have received vaccines and over 6,000 remain to be vaccinated.

“I know that no one can be forced to take the vaccine at this moment in time. There is no directive just yet around the vaccination. It is voluntary right now. It is a question that has come up and is one that we need to think about it to be able to guide persons accordingly. I have not heard those reports but I will certainly ask my chief education officer if those reports have come into the ministry,” she said.

Although the teachers aren’t being forced to inoculate at this time, Williams said discussions surrounding the topic were extremely important to have.

“This is extremely important because the teachers are interacting with students. Based on the information that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has given to us, younger students generally don’t show symptoms of COVID-19 when they have it, so it is very important for teachers to be vaccinated as they interact with our students in schools.”

Jason Cross