Teachers Should Also Be Prioritized for Coronavirus Vaccinations, Says Harris

On February 17, 2021, during her first live one-on-one interview since taking office, Vice President (VP) Kamala Harris emphasized that teachers must be one of the priority groups for getting COVID-19 vaccinations. However, she added that she wouldn’t say she believes it’s a prerequisite for reopening schools.

When TODAY show anchor Savannah Guthrie asked VP Harris if she could reassure teachers that they would be safe without being vaccinated when schools reopen, Harris responded, “Teachers should be a priority.” She also said that teachers “are critical to our children’s development, they should be able to teach in a safe place and expand the minds and the opportunities of our children. So teachers should be a priority along with other front-line workers.”

VP Harris said that less than half the states are prioritizing teachers for giving the vaccine. When she was asked once again if it’s safe for teachers to return to school, she said that the states must decide if they can implement safety measures, such as physical distancing. She also added that to ensure these measures, Congress must pass another COVID-19 relief package.

About teachers getting vaccinated, Harris said, “They should be a priority. And the states are making decisions individually about where they will be on the list of who gets vaccinated.”

States are struggling with the decision because while infectious disease experts say that schools are not a major source of COVID-19 transmission, teacher unions are against the decision of reopening them.

During a briefing on February 17, Jeff Zients, the lead White House COVID-19 coordinator, said that President Joe Biden and VP Harris believe that teachers should be on par with other frontline workers. However, he added that they both agree with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline stating that vaccinating teachers is “not a requirement to reopening schools.”

It’s the Biden administration’s goal to reopen as many K-8 schools as quickly and safely possible, letting students attend classes five days a week, within the first 100 days of his presidency.