The increasingly heated debate on school reopening is forcing President Joe Biden to balance two priorities: getting children back into the classroom and retaining the support of powerful working groups that help him get elected.
After a few weeks ‘strike in some cities and states where teachers’ unions are demanding vaccinations as a condition for reopening, the issue came to a head on Wednesday when Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the vaccination of teachers “is not a prerequisite for the safe reopening of schools.”
But in a juggling position, the White House did not want to support Walensky and said she was speaking ‘in her personal capacity’. Asked on Friday about her earlier comments, Walensky said.
So far, it does not appear that the issue is a wedge between Biden and the unions. Even the demanding vaccines say shots will not be needed if schools take other steps to make buildings safe.
Walensky on Wednesday cited CDC data showing that social spread and wearing a mask significantly reduces the spread of the virus in the school environment. Just a week earlier, the agency had released a study that similarly found that it was generally safe to wear a mask and take other precautions.
For many Republicans and some on the left, Walensky’s remark is seen as an endorsement to reopen schools immediately. Some believed that it discredited teachers’ unions that demanded vaccinations before returning to personal instructions.
Trade unions, however, largely got it with a shrug. With the right mix of safety measures in different places, teachers’ unions generally agree that the vaccines are not a condition for reopening. The problem is that many schools are far behind on ventilation updates and other important measures recommended by health officials, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“Vaccinations go from priority to essential if you are unable to implement some of these basic mitigation strategies,” Weingarten said. “Instead of keeping these schools closed for months, should not your teachers be vaccinated faster?”
Even among state and local unions that tackled the vaccinations harder, Walensky’s comments sparked little fire. The California Teachers Association is urging all teachers to be vaccinated, but that’s mainly because many schools are “not everywhere close” to making buildings safe through other methods, said Claudia Briggs, a union spokeswoman.
Briggs applauded the response from the Biden government, saying the president had made it clear that the safety of teachers was paramount. She cites his proposal for $ 130 billion in additional pandemic relief to help reopen schools.
In ChicagoVaccinations have been a major issue between the city and the teachers’ union as they work to negotiate a return to the classroom. At a news conference on Friday held by the Chicago Teachers Union, special education teacher Dawn Kelly said teachers want to return but feel they are not being protected.
“We want to get back to school. I miss my babies, I want to hug my students, I want to sit on the mat and do reading, but at the moment it is just not safe, ”she said.
Despite the CDC’s seemingly definitive statement, the White House has refused to take a firm stand on the vaccinations of teachers. Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, on Thursday asked Walensky to speak “in her personal capacity” and that the White House would wait for updated school guidance requested by Biden from the CDC.
“It is clear that she is the head of the CDC, but we are going to wait until the final guidance appears so that we can use it as a guideline for schools across the country,” Psaki said.
Biden has promised to reopen most of the country’s K-8 schools within his first hundred days in office, a goal he says is possible if Congress approves its pandemic rescue plan. and as states prioritize teachers in rolling out vaccines. In many states, teachers are included in a second shot early.
But the plan has sparked critics who say Biden’s coo, after teachers’ unions see him as an ally.
Both of the two largest teachers’ unions have endorsed Biden for president, including the National Education Association, whose 3 million members include first lady Jill Biden, who has been a longtime professor in the community college.
Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, R-Ky., Said efforts to get students back in the classroom have been blocked by rich, powerful unions donating large sums to Democrats and getting a stranglehold on education in many communities . ‘
“An administration that brings facts and science to the forefront will send a full-fledged press to open schools,” he said on Senate floor Wednesday.
Some on the left have issued similar reprimands, including former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, who told MSNBC that Biden “must stand up” against teachers’ unions and return to the classroom.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom quoted Walensky’s remark as proof that it is safe to reopen schools before all teachers get vaccinated. He has been pushing schools for weeks to reopen, but so far it appears the CDC’s finding has done little to persuade teachers to return.
Vaccine shortages and slow rollouts jeopardized Biden’s reopening plan as more schools delayed personal tuition. Leaders in some districts have expressed doubts that they will bring all students back for personal tuition until next school year.
The Biden administration says they hope to speed up the opening process by increasing funding and helping schools implement virus testing. Miguel Cardona, Biden’s choice for education secretary, said he was prepared to help schools reopen safely, even if not all teachers were vaccinated.
Weingarten, of the AFT, said Biden’s proposed relief from pandemic would go far beyond opening schools. But even if Congress approves it, it could take months for schools to receive it and make the necessary corrections. Instead of sinning against teachers, however, she said the blame should come from the Trump administration for not delivering vaccines earlier and to districts that have not updated buildings for years.
“There’s not much trust for districts because we’ve had years and years of austerity budgets, and we know the facilities are not what they should be,” she said. “It does not have to take a pandemic to fix ventilation systems.”
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Associated Press author Don Babwin contributed to this report.