CHED chair De Vera cites recent data on vaccine coverage, nature of the virus, and advice of experts for change in policy
(Eagle News) – Even students and school personnel who are not vaccinated can join face-to-face classes in higher education institutions, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
This was after CHED removed the vaccination requirement for in-person classes.
“We’re allowing vaccinated and unvaccinated students, employees and faculty members to now go to face-to-face classes or report back to work. That is the revised policy as of today,” said CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera in a virtual press conference.
De Vera said this decision was made after the analysis of data and after consulting experts. He said that it was “time to change the 2021 policy.”
“So much has changed over the past seven months as we continue to ensure the safe reopening of classes. Our decision making is always data-driven, based on science and the advice of experts,” he said.
The CHED chair cited the “high vaccination coverage in the higher education sector, changes in the characteristics and behavior of the virus, classification of the country as low-risk, and benchmarking of policies with other countries” as reason for the change in policy.
-Updating the guidelines-
“It is important that we look into more recent events and understand the need to constantly evolve and update our guidelines for face-to-face classes in higher education,” De Vera said.
This policy change is supported by the Department of Health (DOH), represented by Dr. Razel Nikka M. Hao, and distinguished health experts including Dr. Joselito F. Villaruz of West Visayas State University; Dr. Michael L. Tee of University of the Philippines Manila; PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Gap D. Legaspi, Dr. Regina P. Berba, and Dr. Ralph Elvi Villalobos of University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP PGH); Dr. Rontgene M. Solante, Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, and Dr. Benjamin Co, Infectious Diseases Specialists.
These medical professionals provided clarifications on the considerations during the online press conference.
-Low-risk in most areas-
The health experts said that most areas in the country are under Alert Level 1 and the case classification remains to be at low-risk.
“A deeper look in the disaggregation of COVID-19 cases tells us that the 18-25 age group has remained constant and low. Lastly, with our benchmarking, we have seen that other countries such as Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore have already removed vaccination mandates in higher education,” said the DOH representative, Dr. Hao.
Dr. Villalobos of UP-PGH explained that existing research showed that the proportion for severity of cases and fatality rate remains to be low with the Omicron variant. The Omicron variant is now the predominant variant in the country.
“We can also observe the importance of being vaccinated and that the unvaccinated has more chances to experience hospitalization and severe cases,” he said.
-Reminder on health protocols-
De Vera however reminded those in the higher education institutions such as colleges and universities to continue to adhere to the time-tested health protocols.
These include the minimum public health standards of “mask, hugas, iwas” or the wearing of face masks, frequent hand washing, and avoiding crowded areas and unventilated spaces.
It is also important to have continuous development of the COVID-19 response protocols and to have ‘healthy learning institutions.”
There should also be continuous information campaign on the benefit of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.
“The Commission will meet with public and private HEIs to discuss the details of the policy change and will inform the IATF, through the DOH of its decision this week,” De Vera said.
(Eagle News Service)