Liberal media Vox gave an apparent nudge at the Biden White House on Tuesday in a column calling for the full reopening of public schools and rejected the growing demands of teacher unions that insist on vaccine priority and additional funding as pre -requirement for returning to the classrooms.
The column, entitled “I am an epidemiologist and father. That is why I am losing patience with our teacher unions,” was written by Benjamin P. Linas, associate professor of epidemiology and infectious disease physician at the Boston University School of Medicine.
“For most of last year, I have been living within the storm that is Covid-19 and schools,” wrote Linas. “I am the father of three girls, aged 11, 13 and 17, all of whom are attending public schools. I am also an infectious doctor and epidemiologist. I understand the fear of teachers – it is real and I felt it myself as a first-rate doctor. But I also know that the United States needs to have its schools open for personal learning and that there are safe and affordable ways to do this – right now. “
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The CDC released a new guideline last week highlighting “layered mitigation strategies” to reduce the transmission of COVID in schools. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed that schools may reopen before educators are vaccinated, but teacher unions are responding to demands that could delay personal learning until 2022.
The Biden administration supported the union, echoing calls for more funding included in its $ 1.9 trillion-COVID aid package that has not yet been approved by Congress. Critics accuse the White House of favoring party politics over scientific data on the subject, blaming Democrats for giving in to unions and allowing them to dictate policies while “holding children hostage” across the country.
“If educators and their unions don’t embrace established science, they risk continuing to widen gaps in educational performance – and lose the support of their many long-standing allies, like me,” wrote Linas.
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Despite a 0.15 transmission rate between teachers and staff, “the union continues to resist a return to full face-to-face learning,” he argued. “Furthermore, the goal seems to have changed again, now for the universal vaccination of teachers.
“I think I am losing sympathy for the position of educators and their myopic vision since the beginning of the pandemic.”
“All of this is frustrating, especially for me as an epidemiologist. Generally, union leaders link their position to public health guidance from bodies like the CDC. But so far, the implementation of these recommendations by our district union – and by many others across the country – has been opportunistic and its stance does not align with current guidance from the World Health Organization, CDC, Massachusetts Department of Public Health or Massachusetts Department of Education. “
Linas acknowledged that, although teacher safety is a significant concern when framing reopening plans, “I think I am losing sympathy for the position of educators and their myopic vision since the beginning of the pandemic. We can open schools safely,” he wrote , “and we have the evidence at hand to prove it.”
Members and supporters of the Chicago Teachers Union join a caravan outside the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) headquarters, while a Chicago Board of Education meeting takes place inside Chicago, IL on July 22, 2020. ( Photo by Max Herman / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Linas suggested a phased approach that involves bringing younger students back to full-time learning in person “with strict guidance to mask indoors, minimum distance of 3 feet with an effort to maximize distance as much as possible.”
“Districts can certainly conduct classroom air exchange research as an extra precautionary measure and use simple and accessible mitigation strategies for suboptimal conditions, such as updating HVAC filters, opening windows and deploying portable HEPA filters in spaces problematic, “he explained.
“Over the rest of February and March, successive waves of older students can return to school with the same guidelines, in a gradual process that allows teachers and administrators to adapt to the growing number of students in their buildings.”
With this approach, Linas believes that all children in public schools will return to safe personal learning in April – “without ideal screening, before widespread vaccination and without references of transmission in the community that cause schools to close”.
“I love my children’s teachers and I believe they want the best for my girls, but I’m losing my temper,” he concluded. “The time has come to open our schools for face-to-face learning – now”.
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“We must work to quickly implement asymptomatic universal testing of teachers, as well as universal vaccination, but we cannot wait for these things to be in place before we start moving, and science shows that we don’t need to,” added Linas. . “At stake is the school year 2021-22 and undoubtedly the future of American public education itself.”