Bohol 3rd District Rep. Alexie Tutor has urged the government to consider tapping students of medicine, nursing, and medical technology, apart from health professionals as among those who will administer COVID-19 vaccines. 

The vice chairperson of the House Committee on Health cited the crucial role of school clinics in the systematic vaccination of all Filipinos for COVID-19, after President Duterte, in a recent public address, expressed hope that the vaccines will be available next month or January 2021.

"To do this, a massive mobilization of health professionals and students of medicine, nursing, and medical technology is needed for their deployment to the schools where the vaccination of students, teachers, and their families can be done following a schedule set with the collaboration of DepEd and CHED,” she said in a statement.

According to the House leader, aside from schools,  the churches, and shopping malls may also  also serve as vaccination centers so as to avoid long queues in the hospitals and barangay health centers.

"We will need the involvement of the delivery firms, cargo forwarders, inter-island ships, bus lines, TNCs (transport network companies), TNVS (transport network vehicle service) units, so the vaccines can be brought to where ever they are needed,” said Tutor, a license physical therapist.

"It will be a historic war effort against the coronavirus. A mobilization never before seen in our country's history,” she said. 

Tutor is the principal author of House Bill No. 4232, which seeks to establish a School Health and Safety Office (SHSO)  in every public school, inducing state universities and colleges and public technical-vocational schools. 

 Under the proposed School Health and Safety Act, the  SHSO serves as lead implementing arm of all school nutrition, immunization, dental extraction, reproductive health, and other on-campus health care activities.