The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now claim that teachers do not need to receive COVID-19 vaccines before schools can safely reopen.
Teachers’ unions across the country – including in places like Los Angeles and Chicago – have rejected the idea of teachers returning to classrooms without proper precautions, including vaccines.
What are the details?
According to a Wednesday report from CNBC, the newly appointed Director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, says that teachers do not need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before schools can reopen.
Speaking at a COVID-19 press conference at the White House, Walensky said: “There is growing data to suggest that schools can be reopened safely and that the safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated. is not a prerequisite for reopening schools. ”
She also explained that a CDC advisory committee placed teachers in the “1B” category – the same as essential workers – to receive vaccines, placing them second in line to receive injections.
Jeffrey Zients, chairman of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 task force, echoed Walensky’s sentiments on Wednesday, insisting that the president is “very clear” in his position that he wants schools to “reopen and remain open” .
“This means that each school has the equipment and resources to open safely,” he said during the news conference. “Not just private schools or in wealthy areas, but all schools.”
“Congress has to do its part to ensure that we can safely reopen schools and keep them open,” he added, and asked Congress to approve Biden’s COVID-19 response plan.
Last week, the CDC said there was “little evidence” of widespread coronavirus transmission in schools, as long as appropriate precautions – such as masking, social detachment, hygiene and adequate ventilation – are taken.
Biden had previously pledged to ensure that K-8 schools reopen for face-to-face classes within their first 100 days in office.