CHED: Unvaccinated college students, teachers may now attend in-person classes

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Monday said that tertiary students and personnel are now allowed to participate in face-to-face classes regardless of their vaccination status against COVID-19.

CHED chairperson Prospero de Vera III announced this in a press conference, saying that the guidelines released in November 2021, which mandated that only fully vaccinated students, teaching and non-teaching personnel may participate in limited face-to-face classes, have been revised.

He explained that among the considerations for updating their guidelines for in-person classes included the “high” vaccination coverage in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), the low-risk classification for COVID-19 in the country, and the decreasing COVID-19 infections for all age groups.

“Based on the data reported by our public and private universities, in higher education, we have a very high vaccination rate, as high as 90% for HEI personnel, and close to 80% or about 77% for our students,” he said.

De Vera credited the development to school-based vaccination programs, and the continuous encouragement for students and faculty members to get vaccinated to protect them against the coronavirus disease.

“The percentage of unvaccinated individuals both for faculty and students is now significantly lower than when we issued the guidelines in November 2021,” he added, noting that the vaccination rate among students at the time was only at 40%, and about 70% for faculty members.

As HEI campuses reopen for full face-to-face classes, the CHED chair asked them to continue adhering to minimum public health standards such as wearing face masks.

It is, however, now upon the HEIs’ discretion whether or not to require health declaration forms and body temperature checks among students and personnel.

De Vera also answered in affirmative when asked if CHED also plans in coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) to roll out mobile COVID-19 vaccinations and organize counseling sessions among unvaccinated learners and teachers in schools, just like with the Department of Education (DepEd).

“We will talk again with the presidents of the universities and let us now focus on vaccinating all those who are not yet vaccinated and [received] booster shots. It will be done. It’s easier to do that in higher education because a lot of universities have already done that in the past,” he said.

DepEd has also allowed unvaccinated teachers to teach in classrooms during the resumption of in-person classes on August 22. — BM, GMA News