By Civ Alonzo-Cruz
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) reported on Thursday (Dec. 30) that 87.1% of the faculty and employees of higher education institutions (HEIs) and 59.7% of tertiary students nationwide have been inoculated.
This is a significant increase from the 72% inoculation rate at the start of the government’s vaccination campaign in October 2021.
In a statement, CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III said that out of the 293,058 teaching and non-teaching personnel all over the country, a total of 255,229 HEI personnel have been inoculated.
The regions with the most number of vaccinated HEI personnel are Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 95.24% or 7,940 out of the total 8,337 personnel; Region 3 with 94.08% or 24,831 out of 26,393; Region 2 with 93.78% or 8,604 out of 9,175; and Region 11 with 92.16% or 11,542 out of 12,524 HEI personnel.
Meanwhile, the vaccination rate for students has also increased to 59.7% from 46%, or 4,115,988 tertiary students for a total of 2,456,667. From this number, 43.21% are fully inoculated while 16.42% have at least received their first dose.
The regions with the most number of vaccinated tertiary students are Region 9 with 85.38% or 123,897 out of the total number of 145,113 students in the region; Region 3 with 81.12% or 321,946 out of 396,866; and CAR with 75.65% or 84,436 out of 111,617 students.
De Vera said the efforts of CHED regional offices, HEIs and their partner LGUs will expand to help education stakeholders get booster shots in the first quarter of 2022 to facilitate the expansion of face-to-face classes in the country.
“The Commission is happy to report that in many regions of the country, the vaccination rate of our education frontliners have reached herd immunity levels ensuring not only their availability to join face-to-face classes but more importantly, they are helping protect their families and communities from the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus,” De Vera said.
“I also commend all our CHED regional offices, HEIs, their partner LGUs, and DOH personnel for their dedicated partnership during the 3-day Bayanihan, Bakunahan: Ligtas, Lakas, Buong Pilipinas through their school-based vaccination sites and for mobilizing medical and nursing student-volunteers in vaccination sites all over the country,” he added.
Under the CHED’s guidelines, only fully-inoculated students, teaching and non-teaching HEIs personnel are allowed to participate at limited face-to-face classes that started in December. -ag
