Face-to-face classes may happen by midyear in Cebu City — City Health Dep’t

Children 5 to 11 years old are getting vaccinated in Cebu City in this photo in one of the vaccination sites in the city on Thursday, February 17. | CDN Digital file photo (Morexette Erram)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City can be ready for face-to-face classes by the middle of the year especially if the city’s vaccination target minors population can be reached.

The city has a target of over 100,000 to 150,000 vaccinated minors, whose ages are 12 to 17 years old. 

For older minors, whose ages are 12 to 17 years old, at least 60,000 have been vaccinated out of the 90,000 registered minors of that age bracket.

For younger minors aged 5 to 11 years old, at least 2,800 have been inoculated out of the 10,000, who were registered for vaccination.

Doctor Jeffrey Ibones, head of the City Health Department (CHD), said that if the pace of vaccination would continue, then the city would have vaccinated enough minors by the middle of the year to allow face-to-face classes in high schools, senior high schools and universities or colleges at that time.

“Hopefully, naningkamot gyod ta. Mao na gidungan na nato ang pedia ug adults kay pareha ra man ang bakuna sa 12 to 17. Dako na kaayo nga possibility nga pwede na mag face-to-face,” he said. 

(Hopefully, we are working hard. That is why we did the simultaneous vaccinations of pediatric and adults because the minors 12 to 17 years old have the same vaccine doses. There is a big possibility that there will be face-to-face [classes].)

Ibones said that the decision to hold face-to-face classes, however, would still be at the discretion of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), but the goal of the city would be to bring the possibility closer to reality. 

It must be noted that CHED has already allowed selected higher education institutions (HEIs) and certain degree programs to hold face-to-face classes or hybrid classes. 

However, no Cebu City school for elementary or high school have been allowed to hold face-to-face classes yet. 

The CHD is pushing for the vaccination of the minors population since majority of the adults, or over 700,000 individuals, are already fully vaccinated. 

For adults, the target has shifted to boosting the already vaccinated population for strengthened protection from COVID-19. 

Ibones urged parents to also consider the education of their children when deciding on their vaccinations because getting vaccinated may be a key for the face-to-face classes from happening or physical reopening of the schools someday.

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