Parents at some schools in the Western Cape are up in arms following a circular sent to school principals about a COVID-19 vaccination drive.
The provincial Department of Education, in a June 8th memorandum, has apparently informed principals that 12-year-old learners can be vaccinated without parental consent if a learner shows interest.
It also instructs that schools will be used as vaccination sites.
A COVID-19 education group, The Red List, has delivered a memorandum of grievances to the Departments of Education and Health in the province against the vaccination drive.
The letter gives instructions on the vaccination rollout, in partnership with the provincial Department of Health and Wellness.
Parent at a school in Claremont, Liesel James, says the correspondence says consent forms must be signed by parents, but learners can go ahead without parental consent.
“I’ve got children in a school in Claremont. We received a notification that there was going to be a vaccine drive at the school and we received a consent form. However, the consent form was not teling about adverse reactions to the vaccine. It basically says you give permission, basically, because I’ve done my research I signed the consent form that they are not allowed to touch my children.”
Parents say the consent form is basic and does not fully inform them of the possible effects of the vaccine and liabilities.
Spokesperson for the Red List, Samantha Hodgson says they want the department to withdraw the circular.
“What makes us angry is the informed consent. There is no informed consent. It is your constitutional right to be informed and, in fact in section 12 of the constitution, it clearly states that it also goes against the Nuremberg code that informed consent is a must.”
Provincial Health Minister Nomafrench Mbombo says it’s a continuation of the national vaccine programme.
“What I like is that communities keep on raising questions. They keep on challenging, because we need to just be about what science but what are the concerns that communities are raising, what we need to stop and regroup and provide some answers.”
The provincial Department of Education says no learner will be vaccinated without the signed consent of the parent.
Meanwhile, The Red List group says it will continue with its campaign against the COVID-19 vaccination of 12-year-olds.
