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Supported by a surge in vaccine shipments, states and cities are rapidly expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to teachers, Americans 50 and older and others as the United States rushes to fend off the virus and reopen businesses and schools.
Indiana and Michigan will begin vaccinating those 50 and over, while Arizona and Connecticut have led the way for those who are at least 55 years old. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are reserving first doses of Johnson & Johnson’s new single-dose vaccine for teachers. And in Detroit, workers can get vaccinated as early as this week, regardless of their age.
Giving the vaccine to teachers and other school staff “will help protect our communities,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said. “It will ease the burden on our parents and families. This will encourage our schools to start teaching our children again.
So far, the vaccination campaign against the epidemic that has killed more than half a million Americans has focused primarily on health workers and the elderly.
In the United States, politicians and school administrators have gone to great lengths in recent weeks to reopen classrooms to keep students from falling behind and allow more parents to return to work. But the teachers resisted returning without getting vaccinated.
The Department of Health and Human Services has ordered all states to make teachers, school staff, bus drivers and educators of children eligible for vaccines. It’s a major change for the Biden administration, which controls access to COVID-19 vaccines, but previously allowed states to set their own guidelines.
Jody Mackey, 46, a history and digital media professor at college in Traverse City, Michigan – where students have attended most of the time in person since September – received his second dose almost two weeks ago after that teachers in his district have been designated as essential workers.
Before that, she kept her classroom windows open and used heaters.
“If you want schools to be successful and safe and you want your teachers to have their heads in the game, get them vaccinated,” she said. “Putting teachers in a situation where they are afraid all the time, where they will want to avoid their children, how is that good for the children or the teachers?”
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Wednesday ordered students and teachers to return to school this month, saying many teachers have already received their second dose.
“The science is clear: it’s time for all children to have the opportunity to go back to school so they can get back on track and we can close the achievement gap,” Ducey said in a statement. communicated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has administered nearly 80 million vaccines as part of a vaccination campaign that is now in full swing. More than 20% of the country’s adults, or nearly 52 million people, have received at least one dose and 10% have been completely inoculated.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the United States expects to have enough vaccines by the end of May for all adults – two months ahead of schedule – although the administration of these vaccines is likely to take longer. time. He also urged states to give teachers at least one vaccine by the end of the month and said the government will provide the doses through its pharmacy program.
In Wisconsin, teachers will have priority when the state receives its first shipment of approximately 48,000 doses of J&J vaccine, health officials said. Teachers in Pennsylvania will also be the first in line when 94,000 expected doses of this formula arrive this week.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced this week that educators, school staff and educators can now get vaccinated. In Texas, where teachers have fought for access to vaccines, state officials on Wednesday ordered vaccine suppliers to begin administering vaccines to school employees.
And in Massachusetts, about 400,000 teachers, educators and school staff can sign up for vaccinations as of March 11, Gov. Charlie Baker said, though he warned that scheduling appointments could take time. because supplies remain limited.
Tennessee will open vaccinations on Monday to about 1 million people over 16 with high-risk health conditions and those living in households with medically fragile children.
The rush to vaccinate comes as many states ease restrictions on people and businesses, despite repeated warnings from health officials that the United States risks another deadly wave. Biden called on the Republican governors of Texas and Mississippi to lift the mask rules.
“We are on the verge of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease,” the president said on Wednesday. “The last thing we need is for Neanderthals to think that until then everything is fine, take off your mask, forget it.” It still matters.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves returned to Twitter. “Mississippians don’t need managers. As the numbers drop, they can weigh their choices and listen to the experts, ”he said. “I guess I just think we should trust the Americans, not insult them.”
While deaths and newly confirmed infections have fallen from their highs in January, they are still running at high levels. The United States averages nearly 2,000 deaths and 66,000 cases per day.
CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky urged Americans to “do the right thing” even as states lift their restrictions.
Vaccination is seen as key to getting people back to work and revitalizing a struggling economy.
“The more people we can get the safe and effective vaccine to, the faster we can regain a sense of normalcy,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Wednesday, announcing that people 50 to 64 can start. to be vaccinated on March 22.
United Auto Workers vice president Cindy Estrada said there have been illnesses and deaths among factory workers, so Detroit’s decision to offer them vaccines “is extremely important.”
“It’s going to give them some peace of mind,” she said, showing her arm for a shot.
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Associated Press editors Collin Binkley in Boston; David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; Ed White in Detroit; John Flesher in Traverse City, Michigan; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Terry Tang in Phoenix; Tom Davies in Indianapolis; and Alexandra Jaffe, Nancy Benac and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed.
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