COMMISSION on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Prospero De Vera has urged all higher education institution (HEI) personnel and tertiary students in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental to avail booster shots against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
De Vera, who led the ‘PinasLakas’ campaign at the Bacolod City College (BCC) and University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) in the city Monday, October 10, said most of state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the province were already conducting face-to-face (F2F) classes.
“They have different versions (of holding the F2F), some schools are already having 100 percent F2F classes while others are on 75 percent because of several reasons,” he said.
He added that some schools want to maximize the use of the technology in conducting F2F and online classes.
De Vera noted that some schools also failed to conduct the F2F classes due to lack of classrooms.
“So far, we have a small number of students who already availed the booster vaccination and here in Negros Occidental, most of them only availed the second dose of vaccine,” De Vera said.
He stressed that “if we get booster shots, it is much-much safer now for us to have F2F classes. So please get your booster shots, it is the best investment that you can make, not for yourself, but for your family, friends, classmates and everyone around you.”
He said the “PinasLakas” campaign is a joint effort of the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Health (DOH), stressing that one of the most important elements in continuously combating Covid is to get booster shots.
“In terms of prioritization level, the students are not the top priority (of Covid-19 vaccination) because records show that they are the least compromise among the age groups, but now that we are starting it, I think that it will go up significantly,” De Vera said.
De Vera disclosed that they will conduct the school-based vaccination to administer booster shots to all the students.*
