The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Union of the Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) are collaborating with 17 public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) to establish additional vaccination centers inside school properties as the country pushes for expanded immunization in the coming months.
In the recent joint CHED-ULAP zoom meeting, 17 HEIs offered their facilities to serve as vaccination sites of local government units:
1. Our Lady of Fatima University – Valenzuela
2. Manila Central University
3. University of Perpetual Help System Dalta – Las Piñas Campus
4. De La Salle University – Dasmariñas
5. St. Louis University
6. Central Philippine University
7. West Visayas State University
8. OLFU- San Fernando, Pampanga
9. University of Baguio
10. Benguet State University
11. University of Cebu
12. University of Perpetual Help – Dr. Jose G. Tamayo Medical University
13. OLFU-Quezon City
14. De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute
15. Notre Dame Kidapawan College
16. North Valley College Foundation
17. Cotabato Medical Foundation
Responding to the call for a Whole of Nation Approach in the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic, CHED and ULAP are partnering for “resiliency, rehabilitation, and national recovery” by jointly pursuing what they call “complementary and holistic strategies that would encourage collaboration” among LGUs and HEIs in their respective localities.
This was done through the signing of the Statement of Bayanihan by CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III and Quirino Governor Dax Cua, ULAP National President recently.
De Vera said that more HEIs have signified their interest to be vaccination sites.
Many of these HEIs have been approved to conduct limited face-to-face classes in their medical and allied health programs as approved by the President last January 2021.
“They have the necessary health personnel who can assist in the vaccination drive.”
“These HEIs have been inspected by the CHED, the local IATF and LGUs so we are sure that the proper health protocols, retrofitting of facilities, and the requirements for safety are already being implemented by these universities. These HEIs also have big facilities like gymnasiums that can be used for vaccination. They have the necessary health personnel who can assist in the vaccination drive,” the higher education chief explained.
“The number of people that we need to vaccinate are going to be bigger in number.”
“There is an urgency to proceed with this initiative because as we move from A1 to A4 and then to B1, the number of people that we need to vaccinate are going to be bigger in number especially when we go to indigents and essential workers. Our existing vaccination centers under the local government should expand to cover these groups and HEI facilities can be tapped,” the higher education head added.
CHED, ULAP, LGUs, and HEIs are expected to tap and maximize resources that can now be used in the fight against the current pandemic.
This is in recognition that the current centers and venues need to be expanded once the government’s vaccination roll-out is in full swing.