UNVACCINATED students and faculty can participate in face-to-face classes, Commission on Higher Education chairperson Prospero De Vera III said on Monday.

“We’re now allowing unvaccinated students and faculty members and employees to join face-to-face classes or to report back to work,” De Vera said in a virtual press briefing.

Based on data reported by public and private universities, 90 percent of the personnel in higher education institutions and 77 percent of the students have been fully vaccinated against Covid19.

“This is a result of an aggressive school-based vaccination program that started around September of 2020,” De Vera said.

He urged other students to get themselves vaccinated.

“We’ve continuously been urging our students, as I have gone across the country to participate in the vaccination program, so slowly we make our faculty and students conscious on the importance of vaccination,” De Vera said.

When the agency issued the guidelines for face-to-face classes, the number of unvaccinated individuals was significantly higher.

“So, the decision to allow only vaccinated students and faculty members was done to protect the unvaccinated students and faculty members because if we mix them the risk is higher for those who are unvaccinated,” he said.

“That’s why the policy that was adopted by the IATF and by the higher education institutions is to ensure that the vaccinated are able to do face-to-face classes, and the unvaccinated would continue their studies using flexible learning, particularly online,” he added.