蜜桃影视

Landra Fair, a high school science teacher at Unified School District No. 232 in Kansas, was thrilled for the chance to participate in Moderna鈥檚 COVID-19 vaccine trial this past summer, eager to further scientific research in this area.

It鈥檚 not the first time a member of her family has done so: Her mother was part of a landmark study on estrogen and breast cancer starting in the mid-1980s.

鈥淚 am pretty聽familiar with the聽science of vaccines,鈥� said Fair, 49, who teaches biology and chemistry at Mill Valley High School, 45 minutes east of Topeka. 鈥淭hey aren鈥檛聽something that scares me. This is such a catastrophe that we are living through 鈥� and they needed us.鈥�

As the U.S. inches closer to greenlighting one or more vaccines, teachers have once again become a focal point in the nation鈥檚 battle against COVID-19.

Those eager to permanently reopen America鈥檚 schools are pushing hard for their high placement on the recipient list: Teachers given priority could receive the shots within weeks while those lumped in with the general population might wait months.

Many legislators, health care providers and economists believe that鈥檚 far too long. They say getting teachers back in the classroom is the only means to curb dramatic learning loss and jump start a lagging economy, freeing parents to focus on work rather than childcare.

FDA vaccines advisor Dr. James Hildreth Sunday that Americans could start receiving the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine as early as Friday. Moderna鈥檚 could follow shortly after.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities be offered the inoculation in the first round of distribution, Phase 1a, with teachers and other educational staff included in Phase 1b.

But much of the decision making will be left to individual states whose leaders have long been crafting dispersal plans, prioritizing certain groups 鈥� mostly following the panel鈥檚 guidelines 鈥� before others. Teachers generally rank high, typically in the first or second phase of distribution.

President Donald Trump鈥檚 Covid-19 vaccine czar said last week the country should be able to immunize 100 million people by the end of February. But it鈥檚 not clear how the vaccine will be received at a time when the virus itself has become politicized.

Fair wanted early access so she would be prepared for her return to campus this fall. The money helped, too: She鈥檒l be paid $2,000 over the course of two years for her participation in the trial.

But she worries others might not be so willing. Many members of her school community do not wear masks in public, continue to congregate in large groups and don鈥檛 seem fearful of the disease, despite a surge of hospitalizations and deaths, one that shows no signs of waning as Christmas nears.

More than 282,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the United States. Nearly 15 million have tested positive for the virus.

鈥淭he science聽teachers are all like-minded,鈥� Fair said. 鈥淏ut there are a lot of people in the community who are not worried聽about this virus at all and might not be聽interested in the vaccine.鈥�

Skepticism might also fall along racial lines: Some Blacks and Latinos, who have a long history of receiving substandard or no healthcare at all, are wary of the shots. They鈥檙e also more likely than whites to of COVID-19.

Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have volunteered to receive their injections on camera to boost public confidence in the vaccine.

Teachers also could help ease the nation鈥檚 fears about inoculation, according to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association and several other prominent education groups whose leaders signed a letter late last month urging the CDC to prioritize educators.

鈥淲hen asked, Americans have a higher degree of trust of teachers and of schools than they do of other institutions,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淭he education community could be a 鈥榯rusted messenger鈥� to help ease anxieties and increase the trust factor.鈥�

But before that can happen, teachers themselves must learn about the vaccine. Some education groups have already mobilized to spread the message about its safety and effectiveness.

Math for America, or M茠A, founded in New York City by Jim Simons, who along with his wife, Marilyn Simons, founded the Simons聽Foundation, is delivering a lecture on the topic to hundreds of teachers Monday night.

The talk is expected to cover聽the latest in COVID-19 vaccine developments,聽their safety and efficacy 鈥� and where New Yorkers and teachers might fall on the priority list to receive shots.

鈥淥ur job is to connect the teachers in New York City with scientists at the cutting edge of what is happening 鈥� and they should make their decisions accordingly,鈥� said Michael Driskill, the group鈥檚 chief operating officer.

The 1.7-million member AFT sponsored a similar event Dec. 2.

Testing of children lags

But as distribution draws ever closer, one critical group has largely been left out of the vaccines鈥� development and testing: children.

Pfizer started testing their product on those as young as 12 back in October. Moderna said Dec. 2 that it soon will begin testing on children ages 12 through 17.

But it could take months before drugmakers can complete studies in this area. Sara H. Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said children must be included, adding, 鈥渨e know that children can and do spread the virus to household members, grandparents, teachers, and other children.鈥�

But some teacher advocates and health care experts say elementary schools can re-open without children being vaccinated 鈥� and even before teachers themselves receive the shots, based on what scientists have learned about the virus鈥� transmission.

According to the journal , data collected from across the globe has shown that schools are not hotspots for virus transmission. They can reopen safely when transmission is low and even when it鈥檚 not, as social distancing, hand washing and other protocols seem effective in warding off the disease.

Research has shown, too, that children younger than 12 are less susceptible to the virus than adults, and even when they do contract COVID-19, they are less likely to spread it.

Nonetheless, teacher advocates believe they should be among the first to receive the protection of a vaccine. Randi Weingarten, the AFT鈥檚 president, said her members should rank high alongside school staff and at-risk students.

鈥淭he vaccine must be readily available to them on site to allow for the safe, orderly and timely reopening of schools,鈥� she told Politico.

State variance

States are just now discovering when the initial doses might arrive 鈥� and how many they might receive. Margaret 鈥淢aggi鈥� Mumma, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said there may be a limited number in the initial round, but that the first group will include teachers, 鈥渁s they are considered critical workers.鈥�

Rep. James Edward Banks, (R) Indiana, a聽member of the House Education and Labor Committee, recently asked the CDC to give teachers the option of early COVID-19 vaccination, saying the agency should do 鈥渆verything possible to let teachers do their聽irreplaceable work聽safely and effectively.鈥� Banks and a Republican colleague pushed to halt school鈥檚 federal funding earlier this year if they did not open for in-person learning in the fall.

Tony GiaQuinta, a long-time pediatrician in Fort Wayne, told 蜜桃影视 he urged Banks to push teachers closer to the front of the line. GiaQuinta, a Democrat sometimes at odds with Indiana鈥檚 Republican leaders, said the profound negative impact of school closures on children prompted him to reach out to anyone who might help reopen the state鈥檚 schools.

鈥淚f we want our聽children to be healthy, they have to be in school,鈥� said the doctor, credited by Banks for helping shape his position on the issue. 鈥淎nd they聽can鈥檛 be in school if our聽teachers are at risk,聽or unable to do聽their jobs聽because聽they鈥檙e quarantined or sick.鈥�

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in formulating his plan for vaccine distribution, asked the state鈥檚 school superintendents on Friday to prepare rosters of school personnel who are willing to be inoculated, according to the state鈥檚 education department.

School board members in the Poudre School District in northern Colorado recently asked lawmakers in their state to prioritize school employees before the general population.

Board president Chistophe Febvre doesn鈥檛 know how the vaccine will be received by staff members, but is acutely aware of the stress they鈥檝e shouldered by聽moving in and out of quarantine and levels of remote learning.聽His district, which serves some 31,000 students, was in hybrid mode until mid-November. It has since moved to distance learning after the virus caused a serious depletion in school personnel, from teachers to substitutes and custodial workers.

鈥淧rioritizing K-12 teachers and staff, we do feel, would have a rapid and significant impact in allowing schools to stay more consistently open,鈥� he said.

The implications for the economy are undeniable, according to Aaron Strong, an economist at the RAND Corporation. Shuttered schools force many working parents to abandon their jobs so they can provide in-home daycare for their children, disproportionately burdening working mothers,聽he said.

And distance learning is lackluster at best, he said, potentially聽widening the achievement gap among different groups of students. As a result, Strong believes teachers should be second in line for vaccination, immediately after the nation鈥檚 healthcare workers.

鈥淓ducation provides the means for long-run economic growth,鈥� he said, adding the learning loss suffered during the pandemic might have a life-long impact on children, not only in terms of their immediate academic success but also future college and career prospects.

A stunning rise in infections and hospitalizations out West has Frank Wells, spokesman for the California Teachers Association, focused less on the economy than on the health of his members and their students.

Educators who have not yet received the shots should have the flexibility of teaching remotely, he said.

鈥淭eachers are on the front lines,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they are going to be in the classroom, they should be among the first who have the vaccine. And until it鈥檚 safe to go back to school, they should continue to do as much remote teaching and learning as possible.鈥�

As states share their vaccine dissemination plans, other questions mount about whether the shots should be required. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis already considered the issue, saying vaccines won鈥檛 be mandatory in his state.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be the choice of each and every Floridian,鈥� he said late last month.

Florida prioritized hospitals, long-term care facilities, and then first responders and 鈥榗ritical infrastructure鈥� workers as the first to receive the vaccine.聽Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association,聽hopes this means the state鈥檚 teachers will be high on the list. He鈥檚 unsure whether all of his members will agree to the inoculation.

鈥淭he Florida Education Association has not done any formal polling on teachers鈥� attitudes toward receiving a coronavirus vaccine, but my sense is that their attitudes vary like those in the general population,鈥� Spar said.

Julie A. Roberts, 44, teaches several courses, including marine biology, environmental science and wildlife sciences alongside Landra Fair at Mill Valley High in Kansas. Prior to teaching, she was a research biologist and has faith in the vaccine, which is why she, too, volunteered for Moderna鈥檚 trial.

鈥淢y 19-year-old daughter and husband are participating as well,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I had any doubts about the safety of the聽vaccine,聽that would not be the case.鈥�

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