Reopening schools: Prioritize vaccinating teachers

While I do not disagree with the editorial board’s main position that students should return to classrooms, assuming safety protocols are in place, followed and funded, I am disappointed that the idea of vaccinating teachers is buried deep in the editorial as some sort of “yeah, yeah, sure” comment.

This is more than a minor critique of SB 5037 — this is glaringly missing from the equation.

Part of the pushback from teachers right now stems from the vaccine being approved and available … just not to most of the teachers who would allow those classrooms to open, especially ones who are terribly at-risk.

If we want to prioritize opening schools with a sense of firm urgency, then we need to be doing the same with vaccinating its teachers.

Erin Lisser, Mount Vernon