At the Laging Handa public briefing, DepEd Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma said this included the 500 schools that were initially used for inoculation drives.
“Sa ngayon po, batay sa aming datos, meron na pong 841 schools ang ginagamit o ginamit na para doon sa ating regular vaccination program,” he said. Garma added that DepEd regional directors and other officials were coordinating with the Department of Health and the National Vaccination Operations Center in case more schools were needed.
These officials also have the discretion on the deployment of school medical staff for COVID-19 vaccination drives, Garma added. The pilot rollout of the vaccination of children aged five to 11 is set to start on February 4. According to the DepEd, 14 million basic education students belonged to the age group.