COVID-19 Update: Teachers’ Vaccination Dates, Thrombosis

Mexican children, teenagers and young adults want to go back to school. How tangible is this? The Mexican government keeps advancing in its vaccination program and last week announced that it will start vaccinating education staff on Apr. 20 in certain states, reports Mileno.

The vaccination calendar for education staff will be as follows:

• Apr. 20 to 27: Chiapas, Coahuila, Nayarit, Veracruz and Tamaulipas

• Apr. 20 to May 4: Baja California, Oaxaca, Nuevo Leon, Jalisco and Aguascalientes

• May 5 to 11: Guanajuato, Colima, Morelos, Michoacan, San Luis Potosi, Durango, Sonora and Guerrero

• May 12 to 18: Sinaloa, Zacatecas, State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Tabasco and Tlaxcala

• May 19 to 28: Queretaro, Quintana Roo, Puebla, Yucatan, Mexico City, Baja California Sur and Chihuahua

What Does This Mean for Students?

A date to restart face-to-face classes, which were halted last year, has not been set. However, after the government announced its plan to start vaccinating education staff, some claimed that schools might reopen next August. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mayor of Mexico City, corrected the matter on Twitter. “Many media outlets say that I mentioned that the return to [face-to-face] classes would be in August. [...] This is to be determined by the Ministry of Public Education (SEP). To return to face-to-face classes, we must wait 15 days after the education staff has been vaccinated. Vaccination for education staff will begin in Mexico City on May 19.” Sheinbaum also explained that SEP and the Mexico City government would be working together to have all installations ready and schools clean, in case students were to go back to school.

How is the Country’s Vaccination Plan Going?

Last week, a new batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Mexico City. The batch included 328,575 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, which requires two applications, reports El Financiero. Mexico now has received over 18 million doses and administered 13.421 million, including Pfizer, Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Cansino and Sputnik V developments, reports El Financiero.

The country also reported last week its first thrombosis case on a person who received a COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, reports Excelsior. The patient was vaccinated on Mar. 31 and started showing symptoms a few days later. He was then hospitalized and treated. Doctors, however, highlight that the vaccine is safe. “It is not about diminishing the vaccine; it is a great vaccine. But, there are adverse effects that, although rare, might occur,” said Roberto Ovilla Martínez, the doctor who reported the case, to Excelsior. This adds Mexico to the list of countries that have reported cases of thrombosis after vaccination, as reported by MBN. However, WHO urges countries to not stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine as its benefits outweigh its risks.