Education Secretary Leonor Briones urged the employees of the Department of Education (DepEd) as well as the general public to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Briones, in a statement issued Tuesday, July 13, reiterated the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the “shared responsibility” of the citizens in making sure that everyone is safe from the threats of the virus.
“As we aim to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and to return to our normal lives, we encourage our teachers, personnel, stakeholders, and the Filipino citizens to take part in the vaccination program of our government,” Briones said. “Let us protect ourselves, our children, and our community,” she added.
As part of its efforts to support the national vaccination program, DepEd collaborated with the Pasig City Local Government Unit (LGU) to vaccinate education frontliners.
Through the assistance of the Pasig City government, DepEd commenced the vaccination of Central Office (CO) employees on July 5 at Arcovia City. Included in the A4 priority list, 790 DepEd CO and DepEd Region IV-B personnel received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines regardless of their employment status.
DepEd said that more DepEd personnel in the Central Office including personnel from the DepEd Regional Office (RO) of DepEd Region IV-B, whose office is also located in Pasig, are expected to be inoculated in the coming days to “ensure the safety of their employees” against the coronavirus.
Briones expressed gratitude to the Pasig City LGU for accommodating and ensuring that DepEd’s personnel are safe from the virus through administering COVID-19 vaccines.
“This is a step to make sure that our employees will be able to serve our stakeholders with an added layer of protection against the virus,” she added.
The coordination with Pasig LGU was led by Undersecretary for Administration and DepEd Task Force COVID-19 Chair Alain Del B. Pascua through the Bureau of Learner Support Services-School Health Division (BLSS-SHD) and Undersecretary for Planning and Human Resource and Organizational Development Jesus Lorenzo R. Mateo through the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development-Employee Welfare Division (BHROD-EWD), and the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Service (DRRMS).
Mateo also expressed the DepEd’s gratitude to LGU-Pasig City for partnering with DepEd in ensuring the vaccination of its employees.
Following vaccination protocols of the Department of Health (DOH), the employees registered and were screened before the actual day of vaccination. The organizers also made sure that all participants expressed their willingness to be vaccinated regardless of the brand.
Meanwhile, DepEd-CO Clinic Medical Officer III Dr. Rainero Reyes also encouraged all Filipinos - especially education frontliners - to get themselves vaccinated.
“Inaanyayahan natin ang lahat ng mga empleyado ng ating Departamento, ng Kagawaran, para mabakunahan na, makapagsimula na tayo ng panibagong new normal. Wala po tayong dapat alalahanin sa mga nadidinig nating ibang mga balita. Ang side effects ay natural na epekto ng bakuna sa ating katawan (We invite all employees of the Department to be vaccinated, so we can start a new normal. We don't have to worry about the news that we hear. Side effects are natural effects of the vaccine on our body),” Reyes added.