Iloilo to vaccinate college students in preparation for physical classes

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Iloilo provincial government announced on Friday, Nov. 19, that COVID-19 vaccinations for tertiary level students in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the province will start next week.

Vaccinations will kick off at the campuses of the West Visayas State University (WVSU) and Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College (NIPSC).

The provincial vaccination teams will visit WVSU Janiuay Campus (Nov 22), NIPSC Estancia Campus (Nov 23), and WVSU Pototan Campus (Nov 24) to inoculate first to fourth year college students who will be reporting to physical classes.

Other campuses of these SUCs will follow, as well as campuses of the Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) and the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF), in the coming weeks.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. confirmed in his regular press conference on Thursday that he had previously met with SUCs in the province to discuss the implementation of limited face-to-face classes.

COVID-19 vaccinations are part of the provincial government’s strategy to allow more students to join in attending classes.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has been accepting applications for permits from universities and colleges that want to hold limited physical classes under two phases.

Phase 1 will be implemented this December for areas under Alert Levels 2 and under, and Phase 2 will be implemented in January 2022 for areas under Alert Level 3.

Several schools in the region, including in Iloilo City, have previously been granted authority by CHED to conduct limited face-to-face classes for medical-related degree programs and other programs with laboratory courses.