CHED Chair Prospero “Popoy” de Vera. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — It is now safe for medical students to attend limited face-to-face classes as many of them have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Prospero de Vera assured Wednesday.
De Vera said CHED had asked the Department of Health (DOH) to classify medical students as medical frontliners, which is the top 1 priority in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program (A1), so they can be vaccinated.
“Marami sa kanila (medical students) ay nabakunahan na dahil tayo ay humingi ng tulong sa DOH at clinassify ‘yung mga estudyante at saka ‘yung mga clinical instructors sa medicine, dahil sila ay pumupunta sa mga hospital, na medical frontliners,” he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(Many of them are already vaccinated because we asked the DOH for help and they classified students as well as clinical instructors for medicine as medical frontliners since they go to hospitals.)
“Kaya nga karamihan sa kanila ay nabakunahan na pareho ang teacher at saka estudyante kaya mayroong dagdag na proteksyon,” De Vera added.
(That’s why many of them, teachers and students alike, are already vaccinated so they have extra protection against COVID-19)
De Vera did not give an exact figure as to how many medical students have already been vaccinated. However, government data show that over 1.4 million individuals under the A1 priority group have received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines while 964,781 individuals are considered fully vaccinated having completed two doses.
De Vera said he is pushing to include students who are going to in-person classes in the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination since most of them are already adults.
He also noted that the government has enough funds to cover their vaccination since it is aiming to inoculate the entire Filipino adult population.
“Sila dapat talagang isama, iprayoridad sa pagbabakuna ng pamahalaan dahil sila naman ay kwalipikadong mabakunahan,” he said.
(They should be included in the priority since they are qualified in the vaccination.)
So far, there are 73 colleges and universities holding limited face-to-face classes for their medical programs.
De Vera said that aside from health-allied courses, CHED is also studying the expansion of limited face-to-face classes to other degree programs.