Push Admin

DOH's Vergeire wants COVID vax sites in schools

Article (news)

Gillan Ropero, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday said she wants COVID-19 vaccination sites in schools to boost the government&#x27;s COVID prevention program. Vergeire, designated last month as head of the National Vaccination Operations Center, said government would put vaccination sites in schools to encourage children and parents to get the jab.She earlier said vaccination sites would also be placed in workplaces, places of worship, and public markets.&quot;Definitely the vaccine should not be a prerequisite to going to school. This would disenfranchise other children whose parents will not allow them to get the vaccine,&quot; she said in an ANC Headstart interview. &quot;What we need to do is we need to incentivize and encourage mothers, parents, guardians and for government to ensure there&#x27;s this safe environment for children when they get the vaccine.&quot;Vice-President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte earlier said mask mandates will remain in effect when schools start face-to-face classes later this year. She added that the Department of Education will not make COVID vaccination mandatory, adding there should be no discrimination for unvaccinated learners. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/02/22/vax-not-required-for-kids-in-physical-classes-deped">Vaccination not required for children attending in-person classes: DepEd chief</a></li></ul>Marcos named Vergeire as the agency&#x27;s OIC on Thursday, 2 weeks after he assumed office.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/14/22/marcos-taps-vergeire-as-doh-oic">Marcos taps Maria Rosario Vergeire as DOH OIC</a></li></ul>Vergeire said she accepted the appointment so that the DOH could &quot;continue on with our functions and somebody can lead the department.&quot;The DOH OIC added that medical frontliners&#x27; health benefits, COVID vaccination and pandemic response are her top priorities.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/14/22/vergeire-urged-to-act-on-health-workers-concerns">Vergeire urged to act on health workers&#x27; concerns</a></li></ul>In the interview, Vergeire said her top 3 priorities were the Philippines&#x27; COVID-19 vaccination, pandemic response, and the release of healthcare workers&#x27; benefits.&quot;Yes, it’s (healthworkers&#x27; benefits) part of our top 3 priorities and also we have already mentioned during our talk with the President 2 weeks ago, this is part of the priorities of the department, because we still lack funds, so we can be able to pursue and continue this provision of our healthcare workers benefits,&quot; she told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.&quot;Kailangan lang po ng additional funds para makumpleto at maibigay natin sa healthcare workers. This is part of our priorities right now aside from vaccination and the COVID-19 response.&quot;Vergeire said funds for health workers&#x27; benefits have been downloaded to the DOH Centers for Health Development and are waiting for hospitals to comply with requirements.&quot;The issues would really be transactional, compliance to requirements, nonsigning of memorandum of agreement, liquidation of previous funds given to them,&quot; she said.&quot;The heads of the facility have to be comply w the requirements so we can be able to release the funds to them...We have informed them of what they should be complying with.&quot;Vergeire said as DOH OIC she would like to be remembered as somebody maintained her &quot;integrity, commitment, and compassion.&quot;&quot;Maiparamdam natin sa binibigyan natin ng serbisyo na importante sila lahat sa&#x27;tin,&quot; she said.(Let&#x27;s make people we serve feel that they are all important to us.)Vergeire added that she would like to be remembered for continuing on with the DOH&#x27;s achievements, &quot;especially during this time of the pandemic and that I have been inclusive, consulting all sectors and my colleague.&quot;&quot;I would like to be remembered that I have been able to protect the population by moving forward and doing all of these responses we have to the pandemic.&quot;<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2124536" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

DOH OIC Maria Rosario Vergeire on Friday said she wants COVID-19 vaccination sites in schools to boost the government's COVID prevention program. 

DOH's Vergeire wants COVID vax sites in schools

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

DOH's Vergeire wants COVID vax sites in schools

Gillan Ropero,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 15, 2022 11:19 AM PHT

|

Updated Jul 15, 2022 11:31 AM PHT

Read More:

coronavirus

Headstart

Philippines COVID-19 vaccination

Philippines COVID-19 response

healthworkers benefits

DOH

Department of Health

Maria Rosario Vergeire

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.