MANILA, Philippines — House Assistant Minority Leader France Castro ripped the Department of Education (DepEd) for its pronouncement that the vaccination procedure for teachers won’t be a choice in regards to the resumption of face-to-face classes.
Castro, the ACT Teachers Representative, said getting a vaccine should still be a matter of choice for teachers as they still have the right to the treatment that best suits them.
“Getting any kind of vaccine or any kind of medical procedure should be a matter of choice for everyone. We caution the Department of Education in their statement saying teachers might not get a choice when it comes to getting vaccinated against Covid-19 if it becomes a part of the protocol for face-to-face classes,” said Castro in a statement.
Department of Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan, during a Senate hearing for the Committee on Basic Education, said that vaccination will not be a “matter of choice” for teachers as it would be part of the protocol for the resumption of face-to-face classes which has been canceled since March 2020 when the national government instituted a lockdown.
“DepEd and the Duterte administration should instead ensure that teachers would get higher priority in the vaccination plan and make sure that what they would offer to teachers is a free, efficacious, and safe vaccine to let our teachers gain trust in the vaccines.”
As of writing, the only vaccine that’s being used in the Philippines is the SinoVac brand which has raised concerns since it’s the one with the lowest efficacy at around 50 percent.
“It is very alarming to note that there is poor public confidence in the Duterte administration’s vaccination plan especially with their lack in transparency and its priority in a vaccine with the lowest efficacy rate,” said Castro.