espite recommendations from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) that all schoolchildren receive the seasonal flu jabs, many families seem to be opting out of the vaccination campaign, choosing to let their children fight the virus by natural means. A representative of an independent primary and secondary school said yesterday that “attendance is almost back to 100% and most classes are almost full again now”. Although unsure of the exact number of parents who have chosen to have their children vaccinated, she said that it seems as if most are choosing to accept the government offered jabs. American School Doha director Ed Ladd said that the institution had sent out hard and soft copies of consent forms to all parents. Ladd said he was yet to find out the number of parents who had chosen to have their children inoculated, but claimed that he had been contacted by a number of concerned parents who were hoping to find out more about the vaccination. Ladd said he believed the response had been something of a “mixed bag”. Doha College Principal Mark Leppard was also unsure about the figures of children who would be receiving the vaccine, but added that attendance at the college had been as high as usual, with most students back in school. It seems that some students themselves are undecided about the virtues of receiving the vaccine. One 18-year old student explained that her parents had opted out of the vaccination because they did not believe their children were at serious risk from the virus. She explained that many of her friends felt the same way, and said that they too would be rejecting the vaccination. However, there is certainly a level of concern about receiving the vaccine, and whereas many see it as a safety net, others are less sure about taking the jab. As one expatriate teacher argued: “It’s something I will have to look into in more detail, but I have heard mixed reports about the vaccines so I am not sure whether I will take them at the moment.” http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=318552&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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