THE City College of San Fernando, Pampanga (CCSFP) with the help of the City Health Office (CHO), vaccinated a number of its students against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on November 3, 2021 at Heroes Hall.
CCSFP President lawyer Gloria Victoria-Bañas said that the vaccination is to ensure the safety of its students once the national government allows the conduct of face-to-face (F2F) classes for tertiary levels.
“Parte ng ating paghahanda para sa posibleng pagsasagawa ng limited face-to-face classes, maliban sa mga iba nating plano sa aspeto ng paraan ng pagtuturo at paggamit ng pasilidad, ay ang pagbabakuna sa mga estudyante upang masiguro nating walang panganib sa oras na papasok sila,” she explained.
(Part of our preparation for the possibility of conducting limited face-to-face classes, in addition to our other plans in terms of teaching methods and facility use, is to vaccinate students to ensure that there is no risk when they enter.)
While the college is steadfast in vaccinating its students, Bañas shared that this was not mandated by the Commission on Higher Education (Ched). The commission instead stated that it is “encouraging vaccinations for an added layer of protection for students and faculty members.”
All CCSFP officials, faculty members, non-teaching staff and security and utility personnel have been fully vaccinated.
In October of this year, CCSFP has also conducted vaccinations for students from the fourth level who are attending their internship programs.
In terms of providing quality education amidst the pandemic, the CCSFP continuously delivers blended learning for its students through modular and online-based materials as it still awaits the guidelines for in-person classes from the higher institution.
Desire to be vaccinated
These efforts were even recognized by Ched in June 2021 as it conferred “Best Response in Mitigating the Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic (Rank 2)” and “Best Professional Organization for Association of Local Colleges and Universities in Region 3 (Rank 3)” to the college.
For the academic year 2021-2022, CCSFP has over 800 enrolled students and almost 90 percent of this population signified their desire to be vaccinated.
The college is continuously conducting discussions with students and parents who remain hesitant about vaccination.
City Health Officer-in-Charge Dr. Carlos Mercado said that apart from CCSFP students, the vaccination team has also been inoculating students aged 18 years old and above since the start of the drive.
The CHO will always be open to accommodate students who wish to be vaccinated, as long as they meet the eligibility, Mercado added.
As of writing, the City Government of San Fernando has vaccinated a total of 178,544 individuals for the first dose and fully vaccinated 132,203 other Fernandinos.
These numbers represent 73.75 percent and 54.6 percent, respectively, of the target eligible population of 242,102.