PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The head of the CDC says teachers getting vaccinated is not a prerequisite for schools to reopen safely.
"There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen, and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely," Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during Wednesday’s White House COVID-19 Response Team media briefing.
In an appearance on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC on Wednesday night, Walensky elaborated on her comments earlier in the day saying, “I can emphasize that I believe teachers should get vaccinated.” But she added that mitigation efforts, when done properly, are crucial to getting teachers and students back in the classroom.
“When there is masking, when there is distancing, de-densification of the classroom, ventilation, contact tracing, hand-washing -- all of those things, when they’re done well, the data suggests, the science suggests, that there is not a lot of transmission happening in schools and, in fact, the case rates in schools are generally lower than the population surrounding it."
Walensky’s comments come as President Joe Biden is looking to get the majority of schools open again in his first 100 days in office. To help with that, the president wants to allocate $130 billion of his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan for schools.
The School District of Philadelphia is looking to get 9,000 students, from pre-K through the second grade, back in class through a hybrid model on Feb. 22. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said it believes "that educators should be vaccinated before being asked to go into buildings."
The slow rollout of the vaccine is a lingering issue. Educators are essential workers who are part of the Phase 1B group that is now eligible to get vaccinated. However, vaccine supply, logistical issues and the large number of people considered to be in this category, means many groups of people, teachers included, are waiting to get their shots and not sure when their turn will come up.
The number of people who have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine -- about 27 million -- has just this week surpassed the number of known coronavirus infections in the United States.