Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), the emirate's private school regulator, organised a two-week vaccination drive this month that led to about 15,000 staff members – about 60 per cent of the total staff – receiving the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine.
The voluntary drive was open to 222 private and charter schools throughout Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Al Dhafra region and was held between January 17 and 26.
Each participating school was designated a day to conduct vaccinations on campus, with medical workers from the Department of Health Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre administering the jabs. The drive was part of a larger nationwide effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by vaccinating 50 per cent of the population by the end of April.
“Our upmost priority is to ensure the health and safety of our education and school community, and to support the government’s efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19,” said Ayesha Al Blooshi, Adek's Covid-19 incident management team leader.
"This is our national duty, and our community has demonstrated unwavering support for the vaccination drive.”
At Adek's headquarters, more than 400 private and charter schoolteachers, administration and operations staff, as well as their immediate family members, were vaccinated.
An appointment for the second dose, required after 21 days, was set for those vaccinated.
Nicola Neethling, vice principal at Raha International School in Abu Dhabi, said a little over half of their staff had received either their first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The school has 380 staff members across both their Gardens and Khalifa City campuses.
Steven Lupton, vice principal at Repton School Abu Dhabi, said their entire senior leadership team had already had taken both doses of the vaccine, and more than 70 percent of the school's 180-member-strong staff has been inoculated.
He said health authorities in Abu Dhabi had provided an on-campus service for school employees and their families.
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