Srinagar July 2: The Directorate of Health Services Kashmir has started preparations to vaccinate staff and students at educational institutions against COVID-19 in the valley amid an uncertainty over the reopening of the institutions due to the prevailing pandemic.
While there has been no word from the J&K government over reopening of educational institutions, a communique by the DHSK, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather to the authorities in the Higher Education in the valley and Director School Education Kashmir, said that before any decision is taken by the government in this regard, “it becomes imperative to get all teaching/non-teaching staff and also eligible students to get fully vaccinated, so as to prevent potential resurgence of COVID-19 cases upon reopening of educational institutions”.
The DHSK has asked the concerned officials to convey to it the dates for vaccinating the teaching and non-teaching staffers as well as the eligible students against COVID-19 at the earliest so that the required vaccination sites are set up at the identified locations.
An official in the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir while confirming the development, told Greater Kashmir that the said plan to vaccinate the staff and students has been the idea of Director Health Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather himself.
“Although there has been no proposal to reopen the institutions immediately, but the DHSK thought it will help to vaccinate the staff and students anyway, ” the official added.