Teachers should be next on the COVID-19 vaccination schedule, according to the CDC. Can a gunshot reopen schools?

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Teachers are expected to be among the following essential workers for a COVID-19 vaccine, an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last week. And some states are planning to push for these vaccinations as a way to speed up the reopening of schools.

The problem: The rollout of the vaccine has experienced delays across the country, raising questions about whether teachers will be able to get vaccinated in time to make a difference in the current school year.

In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine said in late December that teachers and school staff, as well as people 65 and older, would be the next to receive the vaccine. after healthcare workers, with the goal of getting students back to class by March 1.

About 71% of Ohio students take distance learning or a combination of in-person and online learning, the governor said.

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Teachers will be among those receiving the first doses in Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey announced in early December.

“We want our schools to be open and our teachers to be protected,” he said. “We know that our teachers are desperate to return to their classrooms. “

State educators are expected to have access to the vaccine by the end of January or early February, Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

But so far, the number of vaccines in people’s arms has fallen far short of expectations. Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, admitted that only a few million vaccinations have taken place so far.

“I believe that as we move into January, we’re going to see an increase in momentum” which allows the nation to catch up with the planned deployment, Fauci said Tuesday on CNN. He said he still hopes that in the spring or summer, “anyone and anyone who wants to get vaccinated can be vaccinated.”

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Far behind

So far, the United States has vaccinated only 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 Inc .with its German partner BioNTech and the other developed by Moderna Inc. It is well below inoculation. estimates of 20 million Americans at the end of December.

States are already feeling the tension. The Utah Department of Health reported last week that the federal government’s latest vaccine shipment was nearly 7,000 doses short of expectations, and future shipments may be smaller. As a result, vaccines for teachers are now expected by the end of January, starting in early January, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Likewise, the Virginia Department of Health said the state would receive about 110,000 fewer doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine than was promised earlier this month, according to federal officials. 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 will be vaccinated during Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine rollout.

It is unclear how these delays may affect the reopening of schools across the country. As schools entered the holidays, just over half of U.S. students were enrolled in fully virtual learning schools, according to Burbio, a company that follows schools’ COVID-19 plans. President-elect Joe Biden’s administration has focused on bringing more students back to school buildings.

How to bring back in-person learning – amid a winter COVID-19 surge and slow vaccine deployment – remains an unanswered question.

Even as Tennessee struggles to administer vaccines, teachers and educators have been sent back to phase 1b, just behind frontline healthcare workers, in the state’s vaccine distribution plan.

But whether teachers are vaccinated shouldn’t prevent schools from reopening, Lisa Piercey, Tennessee Department of Health commissioner said Wednesday.

“We are a strong advocate for schools to be opened before teachers are vaccinated,” Piercey said. “We have nearly nine, ten months of data showing that schools are not a primary place or even an important place of transmission. We do not generally advocate withholding the reopening of schools until teachers are vaccinated. “

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In California, teachers are among the group that could receive the next wave of the coronavirus vaccine, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday. Two days later, he offered to spend $ 2 billion to reopen K-2 classrooms for in-person instruction starting in February.

Newsom said its goal is to make in-person learning available to 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 learning needs, but also health needs. mental and socio-emotional of our children, ”Newsom said in a statement.

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Is the vaccine the answer?

Other states are putting their hope in the vaccine.

Ducey, the governor of Arizona, said on Wednesday that any delay in vaccination is “unacceptable” and issued an executive warrant, ordering state officials to streamline vaccine distribution.

Inoculating Ohio teachers and other staff is a critical part of DeWine’s plan to get students back to school by March 1. Asked on Wednesday whether the slow rollout could slow down this plan, DeWine said, “This remains the goal and we are focusing on it, so no change. ”

DeWine also announced that as long as students wear masks and adhere to social distancing protocols, those exposed to individuals infected with COVID-19 in classrooms will not be required to quarantine.

Even with the vaccine, officials from the Ohio teachers’ unions suggested more would be needed to get students into classrooms.

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Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Teachers’ Federation, said the vaccine is an important piece of the puzzle for getting students into classrooms, but it’s not the only piece.

She is “concerned that in the rush to get the kids back to school,” further relaxation 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 solution to ending online education.

“It will always be important to practice safety measures, like wearing a mask and social distancing,” he said.

Contributors: Lily Altavena and Stephanie Innes, Republic of Arizona; Richard Rouan, Randy Ludlow and Alissa Widman Neese, The Columbus Dispatch; Meghan Mangrum, the Tennessean; Nicole Hayden, the desert sun

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