NEA applauds President Biden for prioritizing educators for vaccines

The following can be attributed to NEA President Becky Pringle.

"Since the vaccines were released, NEA and educators across the country have been advocating for educator priority to keep students, educators, and families safe. President Biden heard us—and we applaud his work."

“NEA has worked tirelessly every single day to advocate for and create healthy learning spaces and support our students, particularly those impacted most heavily by the pandemic in our Black, Brown, Indigenous, and rural communities. We called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and local governments to prioritize educators since the vaccines were approved. Every single student, educator, and parent in America has spent the past 11 months in a state of anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic and what it’s done to our school communities. With promises of a vaccine, we have a new opportunity to create safe and just schools for every student.  

“But the vaccine alone won’t solve the challenges our nation’s public-school students and educators are confronting during this pandemic, and a vaccine will not close the gaps exacerbated by this pandemic or the generations of underfunding schools in communities of color. We need the Senate to finish the job the House started and pass the rescue plan so we can get students the support and resources they need and ensure schools have the tools needed to meet CDC guidelines and keep our students, educators, and schools safe."