THE FEDERATION of Associations of Private School Administrators urged the Department of Health to be “decisive” in choosing the right vaccine for Filipinos as the fate of businesses, especially schools, relies on the efficacy of the vaccines.

“We are securing health as well as opening the economy; are schools also part of this decision? Of course, we are willing to wait and would not compromise our students but let us get the true picture,” FAPSA President Eleazardo Kasilag said in a statement.

DOH officials said the first batch of vaccines will arrive in February. However,  during a Senate hearing, vaccine Czar Carlito Galvez Jr. admitted that the earliest arrival of the vaccine shipment will be in May.

“Of the many pharma companies, only SinoVac and Pfizer are officially negotiated,” Kasilag noted.

“Also, DOH says, during the Senate hearing, that it will take three years to inoculate 60 million to 70 million Filipinos to enjoy the proverbial herd community. I believe that it is during the herd community that face-to-face classes shall be safer for schools to operate,” he added.

Kasilag said private schools will not survive if they will still not operate this year.

“But that is around the school year 2022 -2023. Does it mean we do not have school operations until 2023? Can FAPSA schools survive? Do we still have the private schools by then?” he asked.

“School stakeholders want to get a firm stand on vaccine availability and efficacy. And now the UK variant of SARS Code 2, B117 which is completely strange to all of us even to the experts of DOH and WHO. This one even exposes our school children more gravely,” Kasilag added.

Kasilag asked: “Where are private schools going now? The only subsidy we received was the P5,000 DOLE SAP.”

Kasilag said FAPSA NCR will have consultative discussions with DepEd regional director Malcolm Garma next week to discuss the fate of private schools.

“If online shall continue even after the vaccine; also, the private school ways of receiving the vaccines and the grading system now that absences exceeded prescription. Personally, I am concerned more with administrators from outside FAPSA NCR. I know they are not as hardest hit but they have more concerns about the fate of school opening. I may have to refer the situation to the DepEd central office next week,” Kasilag said.