VACCINATED. Five education front-liners (seated) at the Universidad de Manila receive their Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday (May 18, 2021). The symbolic vaccination, witnessed by Department of Health Sec. Francisco Duque III and Commission on Higher Education chair J. Prospero de Vera III, is intended to help boost confidence in the vaccination program. (Photo courtesy of DOH)
MANILA – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is set to discuss this week the prioritization of students in the country's vaccination program, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said Tuesday.
"Kung magbabakuna ba ng estudyante at mga bata (If we are going to inoculate students and children), this is going to be discussed by the way in the IATF this week because there are countries in other parts of the world that are changing their policy or reviewing their policy and are thinking of prioritizing vaccinating students so they can go back to some face-to-face classes," he said in a presser during the 1st National Higher Education Day.
De Vera said this is also to consider the pandemic's impact on the students' mental health after being forced to continue their studies under a remote learning arrangement.
"They are observing in other countries that the mental health of students are (sic) really getting affected and they'd like the students to be going out of their homes more frequently and the answer in other countries is to vaccinate them. So that will be discussed in the IATF whether that is a policy that we could also have in the Philippines," he said.
Some American universities have earlier announced the return of in-person classes wherein students would be required to get inoculated against coronavirus first before returning to the campus.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer, previously assured that the government would eventually expand its vaccination drive to include children and teenagers aged 17 years old and below.
De Vera, meanwhile, reported that education front-liners have already moved up to the A4 vaccination priority group just in time for the closing of the school year.
"We fought to further upgrade the skeletal workforce of the higher education sector from B1 to A4. Our argument was that you needed to vaccinate the workforce of HEIs (higher education institutions) because by July the students would have graduated and the students need their diplomas and transcript of records," he said.
On Tuesday, as part of its 27th founding anniversary week, CHED witnessed the symbolic vaccination of some education front-liners at the Universidad de Manila. De Vera urged other local government units to follow Manila's move.
"[W]e hope that the other LGUs will follow Manila and start vaccinating their education front-liners in preparation of the closing of the school year and eventually the opening of the school year," de Vera said.
As part of the A4 priority group, five education front-liners composed of a janitor, security guard, full-time faculty, information and communications technology director, and employee from the registrar’s office were inoculated.
The event is intended to help boost confidence in the vaccination program, as the government is set to inoculate the A4 group as soon as the supply of vaccines is sufficient. (PNA)
