INFECTIOUS disease expert Doctor Rontgene Solante said on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, he would recommend to the government that teachers who will take part in the resumption of face-to-face classes should be fully immunized against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).In a Laging Handa public briefing, Solante, who is also a government Covid-19 pandemic response consultant, said teachers should set a good example among their students amid the country’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign to increase the wall of immunity against the virus.“Isang bagay na gusto ko sana i-advocate, na sana ang mga guro naman, mga teachers will have a very high rate of immunization or vaccination. Kasi nakikita natin ngayon marami pang mga teachers ang hindi nagpapabakuna,” he said.(One thing I would like to advocate is teachers having a very high rate of immunization or vaccination. We see now that many teachers are not vaccinated.)“Maraming parents ang nangangamba na kapag papasok ang mga bata sa mga schools, ang mga teachers ay hindi bakunado… So importante, we need to mandate vaccination also sa mga teachers, not only for the children,” he added.(Many parents are afraid that when their children enter schools, teachers are not vaccinated… So it is important that we need to mandate vaccination also among the teachers, not only for the children.)The Department of Education said all students and teachers, regardless of their vaccination status, will be allowed to join the in-person classes.The agency said they will conduct counseling in schools to encourage unvaccinated students as well as teachers to get their Covid-19 jabs done.Solante said he will also push for the administration of Covid-19 booster doses to adolescents ages 12 to 17 to further increase the country’s wall of protection especially against the highly transmissible Omicron subvariants, which is said to be the driver of the prevailing surge of cases in the country.On Wednesday, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his son Ilocos Norte First District Representative Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos got their second booster dose in a public vaccination campaign event in Manila.Marcos said he is hoping that the public will be encouraged to get their booster shots as he vouched for the safety and efficacy of the vaccines especially against the severe infection brought about by Covid-19. (SunStar Philippines)