Vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will continue in schools as part of the PinasLakas campaign, a health official said Friday.

“So, hindi po titigil ang bakunahan sa mga eskwelahan, klinaklaro natin at kinaklaro din ng Department of Education (Vaccination will not stop in schools, we and the Department of Education are clarifying this),” said Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire in a media forum.

“Nakausap natin si (We’ve talked with) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing and he clarified the department order specifically states that schools be not used as vaccination sites,” she said, clarifying that vaccination can be held within school premises but not in classrooms.

The DepEd wanted to avoid the possibility of classrooms and schools being unavailable for the education of students.

When the pandemic started, schools were used as quarantine facilities and vaccination sites.

“But this does not preclude the DepEd and the schools to set up vaccination sites within the premises of the school or we can also do mobile vaccinations so we can encourage more students and parents to be vaccinated,” Vergeire added.

As of Sept. 1, the PinasLakas Campaign has cumulatively vaccinated 25,638 senior citizens out of the 1.07 million target.

About 2,188,312 individuals of the 23 million target were provided first boosters.

Almost 76 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated. Of the tally, 9.9 million are adolescents while more than 4.7 million are children.

There are 19,279 PinasLakas sites nationwide. (PNA)