DepEd: Teachers may help in Covid-19 vaccine information drives

MANILA, Philippines — Public teachers may contribute to the government’s Covid-19 vaccination program by helping in the information campaign, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Friday.

“Ang malaking kontribusyon ng mga teachers ay iyong pagpalaganap ng impormasyon hinggil sa vaccine. But even for that, kailangan silang i-brief nang husto, nang maayos ng malaman nila talaga kung ano benefits o ang protection na maibigay ng vaccine sa mga teachers,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement.

(The big contribution of teachers is the act of disseminating information about the vaccine. But even for that, they need to be briefed thoroughly and properly so that they really know what benefits or protection the vaccine can provide to teachers.)

Although there has been no suggestion for teachers to administer the vaccine, Briones also hit the idea that teachers themselves will take on such a role.

“Dini-deny namin iyong perception na ang mga teachers ay sila mismo ang mag-vaccinate ng ating mga kabataan or your fellow teachers dahil may Covid o wala, anong klaseng sakit o wala, very strict ang protocol sa medicine na kung hindi ka trained medical personnel, hindi ka naman talagang isasabak sa mga medical procedures,” she said.

(We deny the perception that teachers themselves will vaccinate our youth or your fellow teachers because they have Covid or not, whatever disease, the protocol in medicine is very strict. If you are not trained medical personnel, you will not administer medical procedures.)

“Teachers are trained to teach, not to administer vaccines,” she added.

Government officials have been noting the importance of information drives on Covid-19 vaccines to boost the public’s confidence in getting vaccinated.

Further, Briones said using schools as vaccination centers will be a “case-to-case basis” and will depend on whether schools will have enough space and equipment for the program.

“Kailangan iplano iyan nang maayos kasi mayroon tayong schools na malaki ang clinic, mayroon namang schools na maliit lang, isang kuwatro lang ang clinic. So depende iyan sa sitwasyon ng eskuwelahan,” she said.

(We need to plan that thoroughly because while we have schools with large clinics, there are also schools with only small ones, a clinic is only one room. So that depends on the school situation.)

Some local government units have announced eyeing public schools as vaccination sites for the impending mass immunization against the new coronavirus. Zac Sarao, Trainee

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