Vaccines budget hike sought

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 12: About 900 nurses have been assigned to various schools as part of preparations for the new school year through the coordinated efforts of the Education and Health ministries, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. Sources revealed that in accordance with what the two ministries have agreed upon in a series of meetings, the nurses will start working at the clinics in schools and all the necessary medical equipment will be provided before the administrations of schools are fully operational. Sources affirmed Higher Education Minister Dr Ali Al- Mudhaf and Undersecretary Dr Ali Al-Yacoub have been closely following up the preparations for the resumption of classes. On the other hand, sources said no new teachers were hired from abroad as no entity has been assigned to recruit teachers from other countries since the start of the Corona pandemic one and a half year ago.

Sources added the ministry announced the academic vacancies that must be filled through local recruitment, indicating the ministry has been coordinating with its interior counterpart to issue entry visas for stranded teachers whose residency permits expired while they are outside the country to allow them to return to the country before the new school year. The Ministry of Health, meanwhile, has asked the Ministry of Finance to increase the financial allocation for the provision of “Covid-19” vaccines, reports Al-Anba daily.

However, the daily quoting sources said the Ministry of Finance has asked the Ministry of Health to list all its needs including ‘Covid-19’ vaccines for the current fiscal year to calculate the expenses. The sources indicated the Ministry of Health continues to bring approved vaccines to increase the frequency of vaccination, and the arrival of “Moderna” and “Johnson & Johnson” vaccines is expected on time at the end of this year. In the same context, the vaccination centers all over the country continues to work on Fridays and Saturdays to increase the frequency of vaccination with the aim of reaching 100% immunity in the coming days, which has reached 70 percent as announced by the Minister of Health Dr Basil Al- Sabah. The Jaber Bridge Vaccination Center continues to receive large numbers of citizens and residents to receive the vaccine, as nearly 5,000 have so far been vaccinated, and this comes within the Ministry of Health’s plan to increase the frequency of vaccination.