Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) and Alhosn National Health System have announced the integration of the Abu Dhabi Blue School initiative into the Alhosn app, the UAE's official COVID-19 testing channel.

The decision has been taken in line with the Department's commitment to coordinate efforts with relevant partners and government stakeholders to enhance transparency and facilitate optimal vaccination rates. Furthermore, these efforts will help in enhancing the health and safety of the school community in Abu Dhabi.

As of December 30, parents in the emirate are able to update their Alhosn App through the AppStore and GooglePlay to add the personal accounts of their children and access relevant school information through the integrated Abu Dhabi Blue School initiative. Furthermore, the platform will provide school and classroom vaccination insights in anonymised percentages and numbers to ensure adequate privacy of the student data.

Amer Al Hammadi, ADEK Undersecretary, expressed the department's commitment to prioritise the health and safety of Abu Dhabi's student and school communities. He added that the ADEK has been working closely with parents to ensure maximum transparency in various decisions taken by the authorities to promote education continuity throughout the last academic year as well as the first term of the current year.

The department is consistently working towards fulfilling its objective to deliver maximum transparency with the integration of Abu Dhabi Blue Schools in the Alhosn App. It will enable parents to view accurate vaccination rate data across their children’s classrooms, macrobubbles and schools.

"We believe this honest, responsible and private utilisation of data will afford increased visibility and encourage more parents to play their role in fostering health and safety across the emirate’s education ecosystem," Al Hammadi affirmed.

Abu Dhabi's proactive response against the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the emirate being recognised as MENA region’s safest city by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cites Index. This proactive response is the outcome of close cooperation among all relevant stakeholders as demonstrated by ADEK’s collaboration with the Alhosn National Health System team. It showcases how data utilisation and cutting-edge technology are employed to boost transparency and reassure parents about the health and safety of their children.

In conclusion, Al Hammadi stated that even as vaccination of students below 16 years old is optional, parents are ensuring vaccination of their children to foster health and safety of the school community in the emirate.

Alhosn National Health Team also extended its commitment to working with all relevant stakeholders with the aim of ensuring the health and safety of all communities during the pandemic.

"By working with ADEK to integrate transparent vaccination rates across the Abu Dhabi school community within the Alhosn App via Alhosn National Health System, we are underlining exactly why the emirate’s collaborative response to the pandemic continues to set new global benchmarks," the team added.

The authorities will also update schools' vaccination numbers and percentages for in-class students every fortnight as part of the integration of Abu Dhabi Blue Schools feature on the Alhosn App.

The Abu Dhabi Blue Schools initiative was launched in October 2021 to encourage vaccination among school students to strengthen protection against COVID-19 and its variants. The initiative also provides a clear roadmap to all schools in the emirate towards normalcy.

Since its launch, it has helped in increasing vaccination uptake among Private and Charter School students. At least 45 schools have already moved to the Yellow tier and 22 to the Green tier. In addition, two schools have been shifted to the Blue tier after they achieved 85 percent vaccination rates among those students who are physically attending the classes.

 WAM