SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday stressed the need for local government units to prepare for the vaccination of minors.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture said that vaccinating children will lay down a clearer path on the gradual resumption of face-to-face classes.

“At this point, I can see that one of the solutions to open our schools safely is to already inoculate our teenagers,” Gatchalian said.

Citing the safety of the younger population and the long-term impact of school closures, the senator has lobbied for the vaccination of minors aged 12-17.

“My call is to allow LGUs and private schools to import their own vaccines and to inoculate their own teachers, their own school officials, as well as their own students and their own teenage population. This way, it will hasten the vaccine rollout in our schools and the LGUs,” Gatchalian said.

The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the use of Moderna Covid19 vaccine on minors aged 12-17.

It also approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for the inoculation of minors aged 12-15.

A Pulse Asia Survey commissioned by Gatchalian revealed that nationwide, agreement to allow face-to-face classes is at 44 percent, 33 percent were unsure, and 23 percent disagree.

Among those who disagree with face-to-face classes, 90 percent said that it is still too dangerous to go out because of the pandemic, while 57 percent cited the lack of vaccines for children.

Gatchalian said that preparations to inoculate children should already start.