The Kerala Education Department released district-wise information on Saturday, December 4, regarding the number of teaching and non-teaching staff in government-run schools who have not been vaccinated. According to the figures, there are close to 2 lakh teachers and non-teaching staff in the government schools in Kerala, out of whom 1,707 haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

The highest number of staff who didn't opt for the vaccine is in the Malappuram district (201), followed by another northern Kerala district, Kozhikode (151). The lowest numbers of unvaccinated staff are in Wayanad (29) and Kasaragod (36).  A total of 1,255 teaching and non-teaching staff of the Lower Primary (LP), Upper Primary (UP) and High School are yet to get the vaccine. The corresponding figures for Higher Secondary and Vocational Higher Secondary are 223 and 229, respectively. 

Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said that the staff who have not received their vaccine will be given a week’s time to get it. "Those who have medical reasons for not taking the vaccine have to get that certified by a state or a central government health official. If not, such teachers will have to provide an RT-PCR test result every week. And if any are unwilling to do this, they can sit at home with no salary. So we will wait for a week more," said Sivankutty.

Further, the Health Department has published details regarding those who skipped getting vaccinated despite not having any health issues or giving any particular reason. The department has also reportedly formed a medical board and those who have opted out of the vaccine due to health reasons have to submit proof before the board to get an exemption.

Meanwhile, Minister V Sivankutty has been urging teachers to get vaccinated taking into consideration the safety of students, as schools have reopened in the state. Post the peak of the second wave of COVID-19, Kerala reopened schools on November 1, after 20 months.

(With IANS inputs)