OF ABOUT 4,000 teachers in Bacolod City, at least a thousand are still unvaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), an official said Wednesday, November 3, 2021.
Councilor Renecito Novero, chairperson of the City Council committee on education, said they had a virtual meeting last week with the Department of Education (DepEd) officials and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and it was explained to them the benefits and advantages of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“We explained to them as well the disadvantage once they are not vaccinated,” Novero said, adding that possible legal consequences for their refusal to be vaccinated were also stressed.
The councilor emphasized that all teachers should be vaccinated because it is part of their preparation for the face-to-face classes.
“Once the face-to-face classes resume, our teachers should be vaccinated, including the students,” the councilor said.
“Our teachers should serve as good examples to our students and parents so they should not refuse to avail the Covid-19 vaccines,” he said.
As of October 29, the City Government has vaccinated a total of 223,442 residents. Of the number, 175,014 were fully vaccinated.
Believing that distance learning education does not work for Filipino schoolchildren, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for full face-to-face classes in the country to resume in January 2022.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, earlier said students are not learning well under the distancing learning modality that had been implemented amid the prevailing threat of Covid-19.
The senator is calling on the DepEd to ensure readiness, especially on having fully vaccinated teachers.
Gatchalian is pushing for a special vaccination day for the teachers, noting that in some provinces only about 20 to 30 percent of the teachers are vaccinated against Covid-19.
“So how can the students go back to school if our teachers are not vaccinated thus, we are really pushing for 100-percent vaccination among our teachers,” he added.