CHED: “The percentage of unvaccinated individuals both for faculty and students is now significantly lower than when we issued the guidelines in November 2021.”
CHED — On Monday, the Commission on Higher Education said that unvaccinated college students and teachers are allowed to attend in-person classes.
In a press conference, CHED chairperson Prospero de Vera III announced that the guidelines released last November 2021, which mandated that only fully vaxxed students, teachers, and non-teaching personnel may participate in limited in-person classes, have been revised.
As such, college students and personnel are allowed to participate in face-to-face classes regardless of their vaccination status against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
De Vera explained that the low-risk classification for COVID-19 in the Philippines, the “high” vaccination coverage in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and the decreasing coronavirus infections for all age groups were among the considerations for updating their guidelines for face-to-face classes.
He also credited the development to school-based inoculation programs, and the continuous encouragement for faculty members and students to get vaccinated in order to protect them against COVID-19.
De Vera also asked them to continue adhering to minimum public health standards such as wearing face masks as HEI campuses reopen for full in-person classes.
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However, it’s upon the discretion of HEIs whether or not to require body temperature checks and health declaration forms among students and personnel.
He also answered in affirmative when asked if the Commission on Higher Education also plans to roll out mobile COVID-19 vaccinations and to organize counseling sessions among unvaxxed learners and teachers in schools in coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH).
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