MANILA - The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has been hailed as inspirational and instrumental in the national vaccination drive against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by former National Task Force Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

In a Facebook Livestream on Tuesday, Galvez said the CHED has set a good example in the administration's aggressive inoculation campaign, considering its higher turnout compared to the national vaccination drive itself.

"Secretary Popoy, you've been an example for us, especially in vaccination. CHED has been an inspiration for us in the National Vaccination Program. We really thank the leadership of [CHED chairperson] Secretary [Prospero] Popoy de Vera... You have been instrumental in improving the health situation in our country since the height of the pandemic, two years ago," he said.

Galvez made the statement at the awarding ceremony of outstanding Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for the inoculation campaign nationwide.

To date, almost three million students and at least 240,000 HEI personnel have been fully vaccinated.

Likewise, around 96 to 98 percent of the CHED family have been fully vaccinated.

"The CHED and the DepEd (Department of Education) are protecting the lives of future generations," Galvez said.

Meanwhile, De Vera gave credit to the "hardworking" HEIs which aggressively pushed for school-based vaccination.

"Because we all cooperated, and because of Bayanihan spirit, we were able to harness and out of it emerged a very important character of Filipinos which is adaptability, and in crises, the best of us always comes out, the challenges is how to keep those values intact and how to continue them in the post-Covid period," he said.

De Vera noted that this significant collaboration for two years has made the gradual resumption of face-to-face learning feasible, even making it possible for all degrees last November 2021.

He then lauded all universities for doing a "good job," and honored those who have set inspirational examples for other universities and colleges to follow.

"We celebrate the success, not only in initiating but aggressively fulfilling our mandate to push for vaccination for our students so that we can slowly open for face-to-face classes... Because we have already reached a level where, per the advice of health professionals and the practice in other countries, we have reached a critical level in higher education where it's now safe to bring back our students," he added.

Among the awarded outstanding HEIs include Mariano Marcos State University, University of Saint Louis, Centro Escolar University, University of the Philippines Los Banos, John Paul College, University of Santo Tomas Legazpi, University of Baguio, and Our Lady of Fatima University, all in the various regions of Luzon.

The awarded schools in Visayas and Mindanao include West Visayas State University, Matias H. Aznar Memorial College of Medicine, Dona Remedios Trinidad-Romualdez Medical Foundation Inc., Universidad de Zamboanga, Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, St. Alexius College, and Fr. Saturnino Urios University. (PNA)