COVID: 1,495 teachers in Kerala schools yet to get vaccinated, says Education minister

There are 1,707 teaching and non-teaching staff in government schools of Kerala who have not taken the Covid vaccine, state Education Minister V Sivankutty said on Saturday.

Sivankutty said of them, 1,495 are teachers and 212 non-teaching staff.

”In the lower primary, upper primary and high school section, there are 1,066 teachers and 189 non-teaching staff, while in the higher secondary section, there are 200 teachers and 23 non-teaching staff who are yet to take the jab,” the minister said, adding there are 229 teachers in the vocational higher secondary section who have not taken the vaccine.

He said those school staff who have not been vaccinated need to produce an RTPCR result every week. ”Those who have not taken the vaccine due to allergy and other associated issues need to produce the doctor’s certificate,” the minister said.

Schools in the state were reopened on November 1 after being closed for more than a one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic.

The Kerala government had earlier said that it will not encourage teaching and non-teaching staff attending schools unvaccinated.