ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, – Students in the School of Arts and Science at St George’s University are planning a protest at the main entrance of the building to formally object to a decision made by the institution which stipulates that all students , faculty, staff and vendors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be on the compound ahead of the start of classes in August.
The protest, scheduled for Friday will be on the day already designated as vaccination day by the University.
According to the Vice-Chancellor Richard Liebowitz, vaccination day is being held in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
“Vaccines are the most effective way to safeguard the health of our campus community, our families, and the community at large. It is important that our university community gets vaccinated to help ensure a safe return to normal campus life,” he said.
Vaccination Day will be from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm (local time) for all faculty, staff, and students in Grenada.
The Health Ministry says that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be provided and it is free of charge for everyone.
Earlier this month, the University announced that its campus will be reopening for in-person class for the August 2021 semester for all students in the Schools of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Arts and Sciences, and Graduate Studies.
The statement confirming the reopening explained that the leadership considered all aspects of a safe return, placing the health and safety of students, faculty and staff on campus, and that of the Grenada community as a priority.
“As part of our plan for a safe return to campus life, COVID-19 vaccinations will be required for all students, faculty, staff, and administrators, vendors and visitors on campus. Many universities around the world are requiring COVID-19 vaccination as part of their return strategies for the Fall term,” the statement then said.
“Although our goal is to return all students to in-person learning as quickly as possible, we will be reasonable in our consideration of exceptions to in-person education and use of online education for the August 2021 term,” said the statement which confirms an alternative to attending classes will be continuation of online learning.
The Grenada Technical and Allied Workers Union which is the trade union representing the workers is yet to issue a statement about the mandatory vaccination for staff.
Grenada began its COVID-19 vaccination program on February 12 and as of April 21st a total of 11,689 people received the first dose of the vaccine.
