Leonen wants all Bar examinees fully vaccinated before November

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Marvic Leonen on Wednesday urged approved Bar applicants to get vaccinated against COVID-19, especially those who fall under the priority groups such as senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

The magistrate said he encouraged vaccination “for the protection of the Bar personnel and examinees,” adding his office is currently working with the government’s COVID-19 task force to include in the inoculation program applicants who are not part of the priority groups.

“We have had positive discussions with the vaccine czar (Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.) regarding this request,” said Leonen, chairperson of the 2020-2021 Bar examinations.

“The Bar chairperson, with the support of the Court En Banc, aims to have all the approved Bar applicants fully vaccinated before November.”

Health officials say a person is considered fully vaccinated if it has been two weeks or more since he or she received the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks or more since he or she got a single-shot vaccine.

Leonen said they are also working on the possible procurement of COVID-19 testing kits for bar examinees.

The Bar exams will be held in various testing centers across the country in November.

“The COVID-19 protocols for the Bar examinations in November will be announced in early October, when we have an informed view of the possible situation at that time. We have also been preparing for various scenarios and actively monitoring developments from several credible sources,” Leonen said. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News