Briones: Teachers are trained to teach, not to administer vaccines
By Deighton Acuin
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| PHOTO: Manila Bulletin |
The public school teachers will help in spreading information on the government’s coronavirus vaccination program, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Friday, adding they are specialized to teach students and not to administer vaccines.
“Dini-deny namin iyong perception na ang mga teachers ay sila mismo ang mag-vaccinate ng ating mga kabataan or your fellow teachers dahil may COVID o wala, anong klaseng sakit o wala, very strict ang protocol sa medicine na kung hindi ka trained medical personnel, hindi ka naman talagang isasabak sa mga medical procedures,” Briones said.
“Teachers are trained to teach, not to administer vaccine,” Briones added.
In discussions with the Department of Health (DOH), Briones said she gave commitment that teachers can give assistance in educating the public about the vaccines once become available.
“Ang malaking kontribusyon ng mga teachers ay iyong pagpalaganap ng impormasyon hinggil sa vaccine. But even for that, kailangan silang i-brief nang husto, nang maayos ng malaman nila talaga kung ano benefits o ang protection na maibigay ng vaccine sa mga teachers,” she said.
On utilizing schools as vaccination sites, the education official said it will be a case-to-case basis since not all schools have equipments and spaces allotted for the program.
“Kailangan iplano iyan nang maayos kasi mayroon tayong schools na malaki ang clinic, mayroon namang schools na maliit lang, isang kuwatro lang ang clinic. So depende iyan sa sitwasyon ng eskuwelahan,” Briones said.
“Willing tayo tumulong, but ang interest natin is to protect the children, teachers, and staff,” she added.
Schools are currently being used for distributing self-learning modules for learners under Modular Distance Learning (MDL) modality.
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