Pediatric vaccination at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. (Image from PCMC)
UPDATED MANILA, Philippines — Around five million students enrolled last year were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Friday.
Based on DepEd’s Learner Information System, 19.18 percent or 5,285,437 students of the 27 million enrollees last year received complete vaccine doses.
Meanwhile, 5,663,984 or 20.55 percent of enrollees received the first dose.
“Fully vaccinated learners as of August 18, 2022, is at 19.18 percent and learners with at least first dose as of August 18, 2022, is at 20.55 percent,” Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said during the Senate committee on basic education’s hearing.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the said panel, asked Densing whether they are partnering with local government units and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to set up vaccination sites in schools to ramp up the immunization coverage.
The undersecretary answered: “We will be communicating with the DILG with respect to local governments would want to promote vaccination in schools.”
“But again, we will start doing it when we have sufficient numbers to bring in vaccination sites,” he added.
Meanwhile, vaccinated teaching and non-teaching personnel are at 92 percent, DepEd said.
School Year 2022-2023 is slated to open on August 22.