March 2, 2021 – To keep its stakeholders accurately informed on the COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Education (DepEd) has participated in the launch of the vaccine education campaign dubbed “Ugnayang Pang-paaralan tungkol sa Pagbabakuna para sa Kalusugan ng Bayan.”

In partnership with UNILAB’s AKAP Guro CONNECTed program, the campaign is organized by the government’s Vaccine Cluster – Task Group on Demand Generation and Communications to inform the general public about the national vaccine deployment plan.

During the campaign’s launch, Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones encouraged everyone to keep themselves informed on the COVID-19 vaccine and the government’s vaccination program.

“I enjoin everyone to continue to advocate truth, believe in science, and foster critical thinking as we all take part in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination plan through our respective roles and jobs,” Secretary Briones said during the program.

“Vaccination works, not because it is someone’s opinion or because it is the sentiment of the majority, [but] vaccination works because it is the result of decades and even centuries of scientific endeavor, of studying, of further learning, of education,” she added.

In the program, Department of Science and Technology Vaccine Expert Panel Chair for COVID-19 Dr. Nina Gloriani was invited to discuss the vital processes of vaccine used to assure its safety, efficacy, and quality.

“Ang importante pong maintindihan sa mga side effects and adverse effects na ito, is to determine causality… All together, the benefits must outweigh the risks or the side effects,” Dr. Gloriani shared.

Meanwhile, a local government unit (LGU) was also invited to show how the National Vaccine Deployment Plan (NVDP) is operationalized at the local level.

The DepEd Task Force COVID-19 (DTFC) also took the launch as an opportunity to gather initial feedback from field personnel as to how the NVDP can be best operationalized in the Department.

In his message read by Bureau of Learner Support Services OIC Director Lope Santos III, DTFC Chairperson Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua said that the guidelines that will soon be issued by the DepEd will address the questions that the field personnel may have about their role in the vaccination program.

Three-week webinar series

In informing the general public about the NVDP, the campaign will conduct a series of webinars that targets educating school heads and teachers from all over the country and providing them a venue to seek answers from the experts regarding their questions about COVID-19 vaccine and the government’s vaccination program.

DepEd Regional Directors and School Division Superintendents were specifically invited to be present during the launch as they will be leading the dissemination of information to all concerned regional and division personnel, school heads, and teachers in their respective regions and divisions to ensure active participation in the campaign.

The webinar series will be available via Facebook live every Saturday from February 27 to March 13, 2021 on the pages of AKAP Guro Connected (https://www.facebook.com/akapguroconnected) and DepEd Philippines (https://www.facebook.com/DepartmentOfEducation.PH).

 

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