DepEd exec: 11K teachers under A1-A3 group get anti-COVID-19 jabs

Around 11,000 teachers, who also belong to the A1, A2, and A3 categories, have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, a Department of Education (DepEd) official said Saturday.

Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo said in an interview on "Dobol B TV" said that more or less 11,000 teachers have been inoculated based on the priority list, and that vaccination is ongoing.

“Base sa ating nakuhang impormasyon, mayroon na tayong humigit kumulang 11,000 na po na mga nabakunahan ayon po ito sa prioritization pero may mga onging pa po.” 

However, he said that vaccination of the priority group is dependent on vaccine supply. “Siyempre depende sa supply ng vaccines, ina-assure natin na kasama sa priority ang mga guro.” 

Teachers are among individuals set to be vaccinated after medical frontiliners, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities.

Priority Group A4 covers the following group categories: 

• commuter transport (land, air, and sea), including logistics
• public and private wet and dry market vendors
• frontline workers in groceries, supermarkets, delivery services
• workers in manufacturing for food, beverage, medical and pharmaceutical products
• frontline workers in food retail, including food service delivery
• frontline workers in private and government financial services
• frontline workers in hotels and accommodation establishments
• priests, rabbis, imams, and other religious leaders
• security guards/ personnel assigned in offices, agencies, and organizations identified in the list of priority industries/sectors

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• frontline workers in private and government news media
• customer-facing personnel of telecoms, cable and internet service providers, electricity distribution and water distribution utilities
• frontline personnel in basic education and higher education institutions and agencies
• overseas Filipino workers, including those scheduled for deployment within two months
• frontline workers in law/justice, security, and social protection sectors
• frontline government workers engaged in the operations of government transport system, quarantine inspection; worker safety inspection and other COVID-19 response activities
• frontline government workers in charge of tax collection, assessment of businesses for incentives, election, national ID, data collection personnel
• diplomatic community and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) personnel in consular operations
• Department of Public Works and Highways personnel in charge of monitoring government infrastructure projects

As of May 18, the Philippine government has administered 3.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Likewise, the government has so far distributed 7,671,120 of the 7,779,050 COIVD-19 vaccine doses across the country, this equates to 99% distribution rate.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said the government will start inoculating persons belonging to the A4 and A5 priority groups once the COVID-19 vaccine supply in the country becomes steady. —LBG, GMA News