Briones: Schools with face-to-face classes shouldn’t be vax sites

Education Secretary Leonor Briones on Wednesday said that schools where face-to-face classes are being held should not be turned into COVID-19 vaccination sites so as not to increase schoolchildren's risk of contracting the virus. 

“Ako, sa paningin ko, ‘yung vaccination sites should be separate from where the classes are being held dahil kailangan, we have to make sure na ‘yung level of exposure will be minimized,” Briones said during a Laging Handa briefing.

(In my opinion, the vaccination sites should be separate from where the classes are being held because it is necessary for us to ensure that the level of exposure will be minimized.)

She suggested that only one health-related activity is done in schools and it will not be mixed in where students are conducting face-to-face classes.

She stressed that schools being converted into health centers, including isolation or evacuation centers in some cases, is “quite risky,” and does not recommend it.

“Sabi namin, ‘wag haluin, ‘wag i-expose ‘yung mga bata even as we are now holding face-to-face classes,” Briones added.

(We said that those should not be mixed as we don’t want to expose the kids even as we are now holding face-to-face classes.)

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of in-person classes of some 13,000 schools nationwide by launching its “BIDA Kid” campaign to keep the students safe against the threat of COVID-19.

Moreover, over one million children aged five to 11, and nine million minors aged 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated against the viral disease, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

For teachers, noted Briones that over 90% of them have been vaccinated. — BM, GMA News