Speaking in her first sit-down network television interview since taking office, Vice President Kamala Harris stressed the importance of getting educators vaccinated since their work is so important and they work in an environment where protective measures are tough to implement.
“Teachers should be a priority,” said Harris on Wednesday. “They should be able to teach in a safe place …. So teachers should be a priority along with other frontline workers.”
Harris told “Today” show host, Savannah Guthrie that only about half the states are giving vaccine priority to teachers and called on states to put educators at the front of the line.
“We all want schools to reopen… All of us with children in our lives, they want to back to school…Teachers want to teach,” Harris said.
Harris dodged a question about the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation that schools remain closed if the positive test rate is above dangerous levels in the overall community.
“What the CDC have recommended are exactly that, recommendations, about how to reopen safely if they’ve been closed, how to stay open if they’ve been open,” Harris said.
Getting schools reopened as soon as possible has become a major focus of President Biden’s new administration.
Harris doubled down on Biden’s vow Tuesday night at a CNN town hall to get as many elementary and middle schools fully reopened as possible within the first 100 days of his presidency.
“The issue here is not just about statistics — it’s about our kids, it’s about their parents,” Harris said. “It’s about the fact that every day our kids are missing essential, critical days in their educational development.”
