High school teacher, from Monday he will be in class for the start of classes. ‘Well the hard line on the green pass, without the vaccine we will not go out’
Daria Pulz, former regional councilor, is a professor of philosophy and history. Like dozens of his colleagues, from Monday he will return to the chair for the start of the new school year characterized by the (disputed) obligation of the Covid green pass.
Green pass and teachers: an explosive combination?
“I am a fervent supporter of both the vaccination campaign and the green pass. I see no possibility of an explosion, just get used to the controls that will be quick. No problem then. And in my opinion it is perfectly right to have introduced it not only for teachers but for all the staff who work in the school, even for suppliers and parents. The new data on vaccines have recently arrived and the Aosta Valley is at 63.3% while at the national level we are at 80%: it is a heavy gap that must be bridged ».
The regional councilor for education was very clear: the Region will enforce the obligations on Covid green certification in schools. Will it really come to the suspension of personnel?
«I appreciated the councilor’s position on this point. From what I have read, the unvaccinated will be suspended after five days and I believe that this decision will be implemented. We cannot compromise ».
In past decades there was an obligation to undergo many vaccines otherwise you could not attend school. The protests we see today weren’t there then. What has changed?
“I do not know. The reactions we are witnessing leave me stunned. If all this potential for rebellion were applied to injustices, which are so many, we would have a better society and instead people are rebelling for a just, dutiful law. Without the vaccine we will not get out of this pandemic. In the current state of studies there are no alternatives: either we get vaccinated or we get sick. And while there are vaccine snobs here, in many areas of the world they can’t even aspire to you and infections spread dangerously. The danger in a globalized world is for everyone ».
The choice against the vaccine is transversal to many professions, teachers but also doctors to name two examples. Do social media play a role in this spread of the no vax idea?
«Sure, but you can’t demonize them for that either. Social media are tools. In the past, scientific authority was less questioned, even if there have always been fringes of opponents. Minorities have gained a lot of voice today. The media give them a lot of space, so they acquire a strength that otherwise they would not have ».
Do you have personal experience of your colleagues who have not been vaccinated?
“There is a group of teachers who are opposed, but I can’t understand why. They see risks on the long-term effects of the vaccine. I don’t know what they will choose to do. At the moment we have had meetings online and the school year starts on Monday, but we haven’t seen each other in attendance yet. I think they will be suspended if they don’t change their minds. Monday will be a generalized chaos, but not only for the green pass ».
Marco Camilli
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