Before the New Academic Year, Young People and Students Are Urged to Get Vaccinated Actively

The Ministry of Education and Science, in cooperation with representatives of the higher education, science and youth sectors, has launched a campaign to highlight the need for vaccination among young people, and especially students.  

Minister of Education and Science Anita Muižniece reminds us that only 35 days remain until the start of the new academic year, which means that students, too, must mobilise over the coming weeks so that safe and high-quality studies can resume in the autumn. “I urge you to listen to the arguments of scientists and doctors and follow the example of the 77% of university teaching staff who have already been vaccinated and are eagerly awaiting in-person meetings with their students,” the minister says.

It should be emphasised that, for the time being, only 40% of young people aged 19–24 have been vaccinated.  

Addressing young people, Tālis Juhna, Vice-Rector for Science at Riga Technical University, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Latvian Council of Science and an academician, says: "The scientific method, which is based not on an individual's opinion but on data and critical analysis, underpins the modern technologies that young people use every day—from mobile phones to food products. Vaccination is the same. It is a technology that has proven to be the most effective means of collective protection against pandemics. This is a moment when every young person can show that they are capable of thinking critically and being morally responsible towards themselves and others." 

Kristafers Zeiļuks, President of the Latvian Student Union, believes that studies are not merely an exchange of knowledge between a lecturer and a student; they also involve the other people who take part in this journey towards education. “The people we meet during our studies become lifelong friends and business partners, and start families. By studying remotely, we are deprived of these opportunities. I miss the chatter in university corridors and the full lecture halls, the vitality and constant networking. Science has brought us to university— why should we not rely on it once again?” Kristafers urges.

Deniss Celuiko, Chair of the Student Council of the University of Latvia (UL), who has joined the vaccination campaign organised by UL, adds: "There are people who are afraid to get vaccinated, want to wait, or do not trust the range of vaccines. These are very human concerns. I have experienced what it is like to be able to breathe, but only with great difficulty. I do not want to go through anything like that again, and I would not wish it on my fellow students. That is why I got vaccinated! The virus has no political affiliation, nor does it discriminate over whom to infect and whom not to. The choice is to get vaccinated or to take a risk and play Russian roulette with your own health and that of those around you. The choice is yours!".

During the pandemic, higher education institutions showed that they could adapt to new challenges—remote learning—in a short time. Therefore, the campaign organisers stress the need to mobilise in the same way for in-person studies, which are important not only for acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities, but also for socialisation, which in turn is essential for our mental health. A study involving 1,600 respondents found that 63% of young people in Latvia acknowledge that their mental health has deteriorated during the pandemic.