Teachers, school personnel who are seniors, with comorbidities may already get vaccine jabs — DepEd

Public school teachers receive a Sinovac jab during a COVID-19 vaccination effort by the City Government of Manila on Tuesday, April 13, at Palacio de Maynila, Roxas Boulevard.-INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday urged teachers and other school personnel who belong to higher priority groups to already get vaccinated in their respective local government units (LGUs).

“We would like to encourage all of our personnel to coordinate with their local government units so they can be vaccinated against COVID-19. This will play a huge role in our bid for our learners’ return to school,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in a statement.

The agency reminded all of its personnel who are part of higher priority groups, such as school health staff, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities that they can already register for vaccine shots ahead of the roll-out for the A4 priority category.

Education personnel was recently included in A4, the group next in line under the government’s vaccination priority list after medical frontliners (A1), senior citizens (A2), and persons with comorbidities (A3).

“Napakalaking jump nito para sa mga teachers, magandang magandang balita para sa lahat. Matagal na namin itong kinakausap at kinakampanya para masama ang teachers sa mauna na mababakunahan sa A-list at galing sa B,” Briones said.

(It is a huge jump for teachers and good news for everyone. We have been talking about this for a long time and campaigning to include teachers to be the first to be vaccinated on the A-list and from the B.)

DepEd also hoped to start vaccinating the rest of its teaching and non-teaching personnel by June 2021 as the Inter-Agency Task Force approved the appeal Briones to adjust the vaccine prioritization for teaching and non-teaching personnel from category B1 to A4.

The agency said it will also work closely with the local government units and concerned agencies to establish its own vaccination database.

Earlier, DepEd said that inoculation of some 791,000 teachers is expected to begin in June. – Liezelle Soriano Roy, Trainee