An infectious disease expert urged teachers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 before the start of face-to-face classes this month.
This is important to protect children as well as teachers against Covid-19, said Dr. Rontgene Solante, head of the Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine unit at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.
“Sana ang mga guro naman (I hope the teachers) will have a very high rate of immunization or vaccination. Kasi nakikita natin sa ngayon, marami pang teachers ang hindi pa nagpapabakuna (As we can see right now, there are many teachers who have not been vaccinated yet),” said Solante during a public briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
“When you want to build a wall of immunity sa school, dapat mauna ang mga teachers (in school, the teachers must come first ) so that the students will also comply with the vaccination,” he added.
Ahead of the opening of classes on Aug. 22, Solante also reminded schools to ensure compliance to the minimum public health standards.
“Manatili tayo doon sa compliance sa health protocols yung pagsuot ng face mask, paghuhugas ng kamay, at iyong ventilation sa mga classrooms napaka importante niyan (Let's comply with the health protocols such as wearing a face mask, washing of hands, and proper ventilation in classrooms, that's very important),” he said.