DepEd to conduct poll on teachers’ willingness to get vaccinated vs Covid

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) will conduct a survey on the willingness of teachers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 but an official said it may not be “completely a matter of choice” for teachers if their inoculation would be needed to resume physical classes.

During Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate basic education committee, DepEd spokesperson Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan told senators that the department could conduct a survey on how many teachers are willing to get vaccinated.

“It was not included in our last survey, we just conducted a survey on the challenges of the first semester, but we can conduct that [survey],” Malaluan said.

“We can report on [that] but I presume that it is not going to be completely a matter of choice insofar as teachers will be concerned, especially if it would be part of the protocol of the resumption of generalized face-to-face classes. We will share that information…the stand of the teachers on that,” he told senators.

Before this, Senator Nancy Binay asked DepEd if it has already conducted a survey to know the number of teachers who are willing or are apprehensive of getting vaccinated.

“This is something you could consider kasi nga yung mga lumalabas na reports, mukhang hindi maganda yung numero dun sa mga gustong magpabakuna,” Binay said.

“It would be good to know if may ganun problema din tayo sa ating mga teachers pagdating dun sa pagbabakuna,” she added.

A recent Pulse Asia survey showed that nearly 50 percent of Filipinos are apprehensive of being vaccinated due to safety concerns.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte canceled the pilot implementation of face-to-face classes set for January 2021 due to the threat of the new coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier made a fresh bid to reopen schools and allow in-person classes because most learners, who have been cooped up for too long during the year-round lockdown, have been missing physical schooling and learning in school.

But the President thumbed down this new proposal earlier this week.

Duterte, however, allowed last month the resumption of limited face-to-face classes for medical and allied health programs in institutions located at general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ areas.

JPV