More than 85 percent of teaching and non-teaching personnel in higher education institutions (HEIs) have been vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of January 11, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chair Prospero de Vera III said Thursday.

“Ang ating vaccination rate sa higher ed ay mas mataas kaysa national average, ang ginagawa na nila ngayon ay mag-booster (Our higher ed vaccination rate is higher than our national average, what they’re having now are booster shots),” he said in a Laging Handa briefing
Meantime, the percentage of HEI students that have been vaccinated against Covid-19 is already 60 percent.

De Vera noted HEIs that will start with their limited face-to-face classes within the month have a 95 percent vaccination rate.

“Tuluy-tuloy ang ating school-based vaccination system, pero ang pinagtutuunan sa marami ay siguruhin na iyong booster at tutukan iyong mga lugar na medyo malayo, distance-wise ‘no (Our school-based vaccination system continues, but we’re focusing on the booster shots and places that are far distance-wise),” he said.

He added many HEIs have retrofitted their facilities and are ready for limited in-person classes, but they are still waiting for the surge of Covid-19 cases to subside.

The CHED said Tuesday HEIs in areas under Alert Level 3 can start limited physical classes for all degree programs by January 31.

However, they have the discretion to start their classes at a later date depending on Covid-19 situations on the ground. (PNA)