Can a shot reopen schools? Teachers should be next in COVID-19 vaccine schedule, CDC says - msnNOW
Teachers should be among the essential workers next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine, an advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last week. And some states plan to push for those vaccinations as a way to fast-track school reopenings.
Biden says Trump Administration's COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort is 'falling behind'
The problem: The vaccine's rollout has faced delays across the nation, raising the question of whether teachers will be able to get the shot in time to make a difference in the current school year.
"We want our schools open and our teachers protected," he said. "We know that our teachers desperately want to get back into their classrooms."
Educators in the state should have access to the vaccine by late January or early February, Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said Wednesday in a press conference.
But so far, the number of vaccines in people's arms is far below expectations. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, acknowledged that only a few million vaccinations have taken place thus far.
"I believe that, as we get into January, we are going to see an increase in momentum" that allows the nation to catch up to the planned rollout, Fauci said Tuesday on CNN. He said he still hopes that by spring or summer, "anybody and everybody who wants to be vaccinated can be vaccinated."
The U.S. so far has vaccinated just 2.5 million people and distributed 12.4 million doses of the two vaccines that have been granted emergency-use authorization, one developed by Pfizer with German partner BioNTech and the other developed by Moderna. That's far below inoculation estimations of 20 million Americans by the end of December.
States are already feeling the strain. Utah’s Department of Health reported last week that the latest shipment of the vaccine from the federal government was nearly 7,000 doses shy of expectations, and future shipments could be smaller. As a result, vaccines for teachers now are expected by the end of January, moved from early January, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Similarly, Virginia's Department of Health said the state will receive about 110,000 fewer doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine than promised at the start of this month, according to federal officials. The delays likely mean a longer wait for essential workers such as teachers. Gov. Ralph Northam told NPR in November that essential workers such as teachers would be inoculated in Phase 2 of the state's vaccine rollout.
It's unclear how these delays may impact the nation's school reopenings. As schools headed into the holiday break, just over half of U.S. students were enrolled in schools learning entirely virtually, according to Burbio, a company tracking schools' COVID-19 plans. President-elect Joe Biden's administration has emphasized getting more students back in school buildings.
How to bring back in-person learning – amid a winter COVID-19 surge and a slow vaccine rollout – remains an unanswered question.
Even as Tennessee struggles to administer vaccines, schoolteachers and child care workers have been bumped up to Phase 1b, right behind front-line health care workers, in the state's vaccine distribution plan.
But whether teachers are vaccinated should not hold up schools from reopening, Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Wednesday.
"We staunchly advocate for schools being open prior to teachers being vaccinated," Piercey said. "We have almost nine, 10 months of data that shows that schools are not a primary or even a significant place of a transmission. We do not advocate overall for holding back on schools reopening until teachers are vaccinated."
In California, teachers are part of the group that could receive the next wave of the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. Two days later, he proposed spending $2 billion to reopen kindergarten-through-second grade classrooms for in-person instruction starting in February.
Newsom said his goal is to make in-person learning available for even more students by spring.
“As a father of four, I know firsthand what parents, educators and pediatricians continue to say: In-person is the best setting to meet not only the learning needs but the mental health and social-emotional needs of our kids,” Newsom said in a statement.
Other states are putting their hope in the vaccine.
Ducey, the Arizona governor, said Wednesday that any vaccination delay is "unacceptable" and issued an executive mandate, ordering state officials to streamline vaccine distribution.
Inoculating Ohio teachers and other staff is a critical piece to DeWine's plan to get pupils back in schools by March 1. Asked on Wednesday whether the slow rollout could slow down that plan, DeWine said: "It remains the goal and we're focused on it, so no change."
DeWine also announced that as long as students are wearing masks and adhering to social-distancing protocols, those who are exposed to COVID-19-infected individuals in classrooms will not be required to quarantine.
Even with the vaccine, officials from Ohio teachers' unions suggested it would take more to get students in classrooms.
Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, said that the vaccine is an important piece of the puzzle to get students in classrooms, but it is not the only piece.
She is "concerned that in the rush to get kids back in schools," further relaxing of quarantine guidelines will lead to more cases in the state.
And, Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, cautioned against viewing the vaccine as the answer to ending online schooling.
"It is still going to be important to practice safety measures, like mask-wearing and social distancing," he said.
Contributing: Lily Altavena and Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic; Richard Rouan, Randy Ludlow and Alissa Widman Neese, The Columbus Dispatch; Meghan Mangrum, The Tennessean; Nicole Hayden, The Desert Sun
A health-care worker reacts as she receives the COVID-19 vaccine at Lake-Sumter State College in Leesburg, Fla., on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Long lines of cars were at the site as the Lake County vaccines are currently being given to people who are 65 years and older and front line workers.
Winona McCain, 71, a resident at Patewood Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Greenville, S.C., raises her fist after receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Jamie, a pharmacist with CVS on Dec. 28, 2020.
Friends Terri Kado,66, right and Patty Tubbs,68, from Fort Myers Beach wait in line for the the COVID-19 vaccine in the early morning hours of Dec. 30, 2020 at Lakes Park Regional Library in Fort Myers, Fla. The two were having a pleasant experience and were watching the moon as it moved through the sky. To them the vaccine brings a peace of mind and a positive start to the New Year. They got in line at 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
CHEMED nurse and vaccine coordinator Tzipporah Zar shows a sticker patients get after they get their first shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Center for Health Education, Medicine and Dentistry in Lakewood, N.J., on Dec. 28, 2020.
Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District personnel administer COVID-19 vaccinations to colleagues during a test drive-thru event at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Corpus Christi, Texas on Dec. 23, 2020.
Jessica Miles, left, of CVS, gives resident Wanda Kilgore a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Linley Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Anderson, S.C., Dec. 29, 2020. The first dose of the vaccine was administered to 51 residents and 32 staff, with the second dose planned for Jan. 26, 2021.
Pharmacists prepare doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Life Care Center of Kirkland on Dec. 28, 2020 in Kirkland, Wash. The Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing home, was an early epicenter for coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S.
Henry Jackson, an employee of Lee Health in the transportation services department is one of the first front-line workers for Lee Health to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was administered at Lee Health Gulf Coast Medical Center in Fort Myers, Fla. on Dec. 22, 2020.
Chief Nursing Officer Robin L. Steaban, left, who administered the vaccine, stands with nurse practitioner Lisa Flemmons, Dr. Todd Rice, nurse Cody Hamilton and respiratory therapist Sophie Whitaker after they received a COVID-19 vaccine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 17, 2020.
The CVS Health team arrives with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Sivercrest Health and Rehabilitation Center in Crestview, Fla. on Dec. 21, 2020. This was one of the first administrations of the vaccine in the state.
Nurse practitioner Franklin Grauzer receives a high-five from his daughter, Emerson, 5, after he received a COVID-19 vaccine at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 17, 2020.
VA pharmacist Wes Romanello carefully fills syringes of the COVID-19 vaccine to give to Chillicothe VA staff in Chillicothe, Ohio on Dec. 23, 2020.
VA nurse Sarah Hembre, left, gives Ed Tassy, a veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq and now works at the VA as a physician assistant, the first Moderna COVID-19 vaccine delivered to the VA on Dec. 23, 2020. The VA received 1,000 doses to give to VA personnel and patients.
Dr. Theresa Maresca from the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB), lets a collegue write on her arm For the Love of Native People over the spot where she received a shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, at the SIHB, on Dec. 21, 2020 in Seattle, Wash. The Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) received 500 doses of the FDA-approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine today.
A member of FDNY EMS gives a thumbs up while receiving the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine on Dec. 23, 2020 in New York City. Members of FDNY EMS were given doses of the Moderna coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine allotted for the department.
Dr. Cletus Oppong, who specializes in occupational medicine, is the first to receive the first round of the Moderna vaccine by Clinical Pharmacist Erin Conkright on Dec. 24, 2020, at the Owensboro Health Regional Hospital in Owensboro, Ky. "It's an exciting day," said Oppong.
Command Sgt. Maj. John Raines of the Mississippi National Guard, looks away as he receives a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in his arm, by a fellow guard member, Dec. 23, 2020, in Flowood, Miss. One hundred doses of the vaccine were administered to both Mississippi Air and Army National Guard service members who serve as first responders and currently assist with the administering of the COVID-19 test at Mississippi Department of Health drive through community testing sites across the state.
Tim King, a citizen of the Cherokee nation and a Cherokee language speaker, receives ther COVID-19 vaccine at the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center Dec. 17, 2020, in Tahlequah, Okla. On his left arm is a tattoo of a dreamcatcher with the word Cherokee.
Long-term care patient Carlos Alegre receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from licensed vocational nurse Virgie Vivar at Birch Patrick Skilled Nursing Facility at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center on Dec. 21, 2020 in Chula Vista, Calif. 72-year-old Alegre is the first patient to receive the vaccine in San Diego County. Long-term care patients and frontline workers are among those in the CDCÕs highest priority group for vaccination.
Hartford HealthCare employee Wilfredo Rivera reacts after receiving the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 as Hartford HealthCare Nurse Laura Bailey, right, looks on at Hartford Hospital, Dec. 21, 2020, in Hartford, Conn. Hartford HealthCare was the first in the state to administer the Moderna vaccine.
Lerma Ballesteros, left, a technical laboratory assistant with Diagnostic Laboratory Services, remains rock steady even as she is administered a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination during a temporary clinic conducted by Department of Public Health and Social Services workers and other support staff at the Okkodo High School cafeteria in Dededo on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020.
Marie Branham, right, resident services director at Atria Springdale assisted living community, receives the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine from CVS pharmacist Shereen Keshta at the facility in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 21, 2020.
Rochester General Hospital received the new Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and started vaccinating some of their high-risk healthcare workers on December 15, 2020. Nancy Nicoletta, assistant director of pharmacy, brings up a bag of the vaccine. The vaccine has to be kept at a very cold temperature.
Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Miss. on Dec. 20, 2020. While shipments of the vaccine are rolling out to many health care workers and nursing homes across the country, it could be months before itÕs available for the general public.
Dr. Julie Kennerly-Shah draws out a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as its distributed to healthcare workers on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020 at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center East in Columbus, Ohio. Vaccine shipments began arriving in Ohio on Monday and frontline health care workers have been the first to receive the vaccine.
RN Gisela Bunch administers the vaccine for COVID-19 to CVI outreach coordinator Lynde Sain at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital in Germantown, Tenn., on Dec. 17, 2020.
Allison Wynes, a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) nurse practitioner, records a video for her friends announcing she had received one of first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, on the 12th floor of the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa.
Sandra Lindsay, left, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in New York.
Courtney Schneider, 40, of Grand Rapids and her son, Elliot Schneider, 8, of Grand Rapids wave flags at the FedEx plane carrying the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Dec. 13, 2020.
Susan Deur of Plainwell, center, and Nancy Galloway of Plainwell, applaud and cheer as they watch the trucks carrying COVID-19 vaccine leave at Pfizer Global Supply in Portage, Mich., Dec. 13, 2020.
Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Dece. 13, 2020.
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