DepEd: Teachers in pilot in-person classes should be fully vaccinated

In the signing of the joint guidelines with the Department of Health (DOH), DepEd Service Director Roger Masapol said school personnel should be fully immunized and below 65 years old without existing comorbidities.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the two agencies agreed to make vaccination mandatory to ensure the safety of the students. She noted that the government has mandated local governments to fast-track the vaccination of public and private school teachers as well as other school personnel.

DepEd earlier said that vaccination was not mandatory for teachers participating in limited face-to-face classes. This was opposed by several groups which pushed for the vaccination of adults to protect the children against COVID-19.

DepEd has not set a date for the pilot testing of limited face-to-face classes and is yet to confirm the list of schools that will participate. The testing will be held in 100 public schools and 20 private schools for two months.