By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr.

With its remarkable efforts in achieving herd immunity against COVID-19, the Mariano Marcos State University was recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as the most outstanding higher education institution (HEI) in the Ilocos Region for the COVID-19 vaccination program. 

Today, July 19, Engr. Ami Ruth Cocson, university vice president for planning and development, and Dr. Leonisa Silvestre, health and wellness services director, received the award in a ceremony held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. 

Delighted by the award, MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis thanked CHED headed by chairperson J. Prospero E. De Vera III for the recognition, saying it reflects the university’s resounding success in immunizing its constituents against the dreaded disease. 

“Truly, we exemplified the Bayanihan spirit by forging unity and cooperation among key stakeholders to vaccinate the members of MMSU family and those from the local communities in a systematic and aggressive manner,” PSCA noted. 

She also attributed the university’s attainment of 99.42 percent vaccination rate among its employees and students to the CHED’s massive advocacy campaign for COVID-19 vaccination, and the Resbakuna campaign implemented by the Department of Health in partnership with the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, and the local government units (LGUs) of the province.  

CHED’s advocacy campaign was implemented in November 2021 which intensified the DOH’s Resbakuna campaign that started in June last year. 

Through the campaigns, a total of 1,382 personnel (99.93%) and 13,468 students (99.37%) were already vaccinated. 

Also, the university helped the provincial government in its province-wide vaccination roll-out by deploying its health frontliners in various vaccination sites in the localities. 

MMSU’s high vaccination rate, along with its compliance with other requirements imposed by CHED, DOH, and component LGUs, paved the way to its conduct of limited face-to-face classes in January, being one of the first tertiary schools to do so. The university will also implement full in-person classes next school year.

CHED awarded 15 other tertiary schools, one per region, for having mobilized their respective physical and human resources to materialize the national COVID-19 vaccination program of the Philippine government. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)