The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has removed the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, now allowing vaccinated and unvaccinated college students and personnel to attend face-to-face classes.
“We are allowing vaccinated and unvaccinated students and faculty members, and employees to now go face-to-face classes, or to report back to work. That is the revised policy as of today,” CHED chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III said in a virtual press conference on Monday, Aug. 30.
He explained that the decision to revise the CHED policy was made upon consultation with health experts and the commission's study on certain trends in other countries.
De Vera said that when CHED first issued a memorandum last year requiring students and personnel to get vaccinated, the COVID-19 situation was different.
“When we issued that in November, the situation was very different, our vaccination rate was much lower. Remember, Omicron hit us after November 2021. Kaya talagang at that time, the data out there was not very solid in terms of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated,” he explained.
De Vera said the circumstances changed this year as the vaccination rate went up and there are available studies about the risk for certain age groups.
“We are confident that the data on the ground, the vaccination rates, our health experts agree with us, that is the time when we decided [to change vaccination policy],” de Vera further explained.
To ensure students and employees’ safety, the commission chief said they ask the higher education institutions (HEI) to make sure that health protocols such as wearing face masks, disinfecting hands, and physical distancing are observed.
He said the commission also asks for the participation of institutions in launching campus vaccination.
Last week, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) called CHED to remove its memorandum order that prevents unvaccinated teaching, non-teaching personnel, and students from attending in-person classes.
