NCAA eyes to provide COVID-19 vaccines for student-athletes

FILE – NCAA Season 95 opening. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines — The NCAA is looking at procuring COVID-19 vaccines for its student-athletes and officials, as per league Management Committee chair Fr. Vic Calvo of Letran.

Calvo said the vaccines will likely come from Unilab through Dr. Jose Paolo Campos of Emilio Aguinaldo College.

Campos’ family partly owns the pharmaceutical company which recently signed an agreement with Faberco Life Sciences, Inc., the distributor of Covavax jabs in the country.

“By May, the Covavax will be available according to Unilab,” Calvo said in Filipino Tuesday during the PSA Forum. “The terms of our meeting look good because of EAC as a member school of the NCAA.”

“We will finance the vaccination of the athletes and the officials.”

The NCAA is also determined to push through with its 96th Season in May.

The league is eyeing to hold virtual tournaments in taekwondo, chess, women’s volleyball and men’s basketball.
“We need an audience with the CHED so we can agree on how far we can do this,’’ said Calvo.

“We will go online if we are not allowed. We just have to be resilient and creative. We have to show the entire nation that we can do this for the sake of our athletes.”