If the government considers vaccination as a prerequisite before allowing the resumption of face-to-face classes, a group of education workers said that a national immunization program for teachers and students should be established.

“If the government wants to make vaccination a prerequisite to resumption of face-to-face classes, then it must institute a national program for immunizing teachers and students,” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Secretary General Raymond Basilio said in a statement issued Friday, July 16.

While it welcomed the latest development on the possibility of holding face-to-faces classes soon, ACT Philippines also sought clarifications on the vaccination requirements set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).

In particular, the group questioned the announcement of Department of Health (DOH) Secretary and IATF Head Francisco Duque that “enough number of participating teachers” must be inoculated for a locality to be allowed to hold physical classes.

For ACT, this announcement remains vague especially when “there is no dedicated national immunization program for teachers and students and the rate of the country’s vaccination program remains dismal.” “What does the IATF mean when they say ‘enough’ teachers must be vaccinated when, in the first place, there aren’t even enough vaccines in the country?” Basilio asked.

Just this month, ACT pointed out that several Metro Manila cities - who get most of the stocks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines - have had to halt their first dose roll out due to insufficient supply from the national government.

“Supplies in provinces outside of Metro Manila are even worse, especially considering the surge in cases in these areas,” Basilio said. “We’re already in the second half of the year but so far we’ve only fully inoculated 3.2 percent of the population—a far cry from our 50 - 70 percent target by the end of the year,” he added.

ACT noted that among the reported Metro Manila cities to have “temporarily shut down” their vaccination program include Makati, Paranaque, Caloocan, and Valenzuela.

Citing the challenges under distance learning, ACT has been among those groups that are pushing for the resumption of face-to-faces classes.

“We already have one of the longest school lockdowns in the world, education access and quality have suffered too much in the last year,” Basilio said.

While education workers’ clamor have resulted in their A4 priority status in the country’s vaccination program, ACT said that the “lack of vaccines remains to be the biggest hurdle to their immediate inoculation.”

Given this, ACT noted the need for a more efficient vaccination program through the hastened procurement of vaccines, additional funding for more supplies, and quicker roll outs.

“In the absence of these measures, however, such requisites are too high for a limited run of face-to-face classes,” ACT said.