Gatchalian: Teachers should get first dibs at COVID-19 vaccine, too

Published December 23, 2020 05:05 PM By DONA MAGSINO,GMA News

Teachers in the country who have been risking their lives to make blended forms of learning work amid the COVID-19 pandemic should be included in the priority beneficiaries of the government's immunization program, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.

"Dahil ang ating mga guro, mga punong-guro, at kawani ng mga paaralan ay nagsisilbing mga frontliners sa pagpapatuloy ng edukasyon, nararapat lamang na mabilang sila sa mga unang makakatanggap ng bakuna laban sa COVID-19," Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate committee on basic education, said in a statement.

According to Malacanang, nearly 25 million Filipinos composed of frontline health workers, the poor, and uniformed personnel will be among the first to receive

the COVID-19 vaccine in the country's mass immunization program within the first semester of 2021.

“Uunahin natin bibigyan ng COVID-19 vaccine ang mga lugar na maraming kaso ng COVID-19 tulad ng Metro Manila, Metro Cebu at Davao—ito po iyong geographical priorities,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Out of the Philippines' estimated 110-million population, around 60 to 70 million must be vaccinated to form herd immunity against COVID-19, experts said, and the government plans to accomplish this in three to five years.

Inoculating the teachers, as well as the non-teaching personnel in schools is an important step in ensuring the safety of the gradual resumption of face-to-face classes next year, Gatchalian said.

Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Department of Education’s proposal to conduct a dry run of face-to-face classes in areas with low COVID-19 risk in January 2021.

Over a thousand schools were nominated by regional directors for the reintroduction of physical classes, according to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, but this list would further be sifted based on compliance with health protocols against the spread of COVID-19, and approval of parents and local government units, among others.—LDF, GMA News

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