By: Valerie Timmerman
The first reported case of COVID-19 in New York was confirmed on March 1st, 2020.[i] Nearly one year later, vaccines are finally being administered to teachers across the state.[ii] This could not come soon enough for teachers working in-person this year, many of whom received the dreaded call that a student in their class tested positive[iii], or worse, they had tested positive themselves. To mitigate the risk of infection this year, teachers’ unions took several initiatives to safeguard their members. The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) launched a website in November to track COVID-19 cases and to report safety concerns in schools.[iv] The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) advocated for a fully remote start to the school year in New York City, citing concerns about the poor ventilation in city schools.[v] When schools reopened and the positivity rate jumped to 9% in NYC at the beginning of 2021, the UFT again called for a switch to remote-learning.[vi] These unions’ diligent efforts will have to continue despite New York teachers’ recent eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. Due to the limited availability of vaccines, glitches in the state enrollment website, and the high demand for the vaccine, many teachers are unable to get a vaccination appointment for months—if they are able to get one at all.[vii]
Teachers and other school faculty became eligible for the vaccine on January 11th as members of priority group 1B, the second group eligible to receive vaccine in New York State.[viii] 1B also includes individuals 75 and older, corrections and police officers, first responders, public transit employees, and several others.[ix] There are 4 million eligible people in group 1B, double the amount of priority group 1A, the first group eligible to receive the vaccine in New York State.[x] The drastic difference in eligible individuals has caused a delay in vaccinating many individuals in group 1B because the federal government only delivers 250,000 vaccines to the state per week.[xi] When the state’s enrollment website began taking appointments for individuals in group 1B to receive the vaccine, most available time slots were quickly filled.[xii] To remedy this issue, unions and school districts began creating their own plans to facilitate vaccine administration to their teachers, administrators, and faculty members. Before the enrollment period even began, the UFT announced a plan to accelerate NYC teachers’ access to vaccines by coordinating with participating health care institutions.[xiii]
The CDC classified those in the education sector, as “frontline essential workers” and recommended that they “receive vaccination in Phase 1b.”[xiv] However, it is ultimately the state that decides who gets priority.[xv] As of January 28th, New York is one of 23 states where teachers are eligible to receive the vaccine.[xvi] In the remaining states, teachers unions such as the Indiana State Teachers Association, argue that school staff should be prioritized because educators work with the public every day and thus, deal with the risk and fear of infection daily.[xvii] Additionally, public health experts and unions agree that vaccinating teachers would accelerate the return to in-person learning and decrease shortages of faculty, since adult school staff are more likely to have serious health issues from the virus than children.[xviii] Students struggling with the academic and social effects of online-learning would greatly benefit from states vaccinating teachers, administrators, and faculty within their school.[xix]
As the vaccine is slowly administered to New York educators and is denied to educators in other states, teachers’ unions across the country will continue to monitor compliance with state health regulations and continue to advocate for their teachers.
______________________________________________________________________________
[i] Joseph Goldstein & Jesse McKinley, Coronavirus in N.Y.: Manhattan Woman Is First Confirmed Case in State, N.Y. Times (March 1, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/nyregion/new-york-coronvirus-confirmed.html.
[ii] See COVID-19 Vaccine, (https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/) (last visited Jan. 21, 2020).
[iii] MJ Slaby, Hamilton County teachers unions ask Holcomb to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine by next month, Indianapolis Star (Jan. 28, 2021 6:12 PM), https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/education/2021/01/28/indiana-education-teachers-unions-hamilton-county-ask-holcomb-prioritize-covid-vaccines-educators/4286818001/.
[iv] NYSUT launches new website to track COVID-19 health, safety concerns in New York schools, N.Y. St. United Tchr[s] (Nov. 9, 2020), https://www.nysut.org/news/2020/november/media-release-covid-tracker.
[v] Annalise Knudson, NYC teachers push for schools to stay closed come fall, SILive.com (Aug. 9, 2020), https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/08/nyc-teachers-push-for-schools-to-stay-closed-come-fall.html.
[vi] Síle Moloney, UFT Calls for Fully Remote Learning at all NYC Public Schools Amid Rising COVID Cases, Norwood News (Jan. 4, 2021), https://www.norwoodnews.org/uft-calls-for-fully-remote-learning-at-all-nyc-public-schools-amid-rising-covid-cases/.
[vii] See Alex Zimmerman, NYC Teachers are Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine. But When Will Schools Return to Normal?, The City (Jan. 13, 2021 9:43 PM), https://www.thecity.nyc/2021/1/13/22230183/nyc-teachers-getting-covid-19-vaccine-schools-class.
[viii]Governor Cuomo Announces Additional New Yorkers, Individuals 75 and Older Can Begin Scheduling with Providers COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments, governor.ny.gov (Jan. 11, 2021), (https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-additional-new-yorkers-individuals-75-and-older-can-begin-scheduling).
[ix] Id.
[x] Id.
[xi] See Governor Cuomo Provides Update on New York’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution, governor.ny.gov (Jan. 16, 2021), https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-provides-update-new-york-s-covid-19-vaccine-distribution.
[xii] See See if you may be Eligible to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine, https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/ (last visited Jan. 23, 2021).
[xiii] UFT announces program to speed up teachers’ access to coronavirus vaccine, United Fed’n Tchr[s] (Jan. 10, 2021), https://www.uft.org/news/press-releases/uft-announces-program-speed-teachers-access-coronavirus-vaccine.
[xiv]Interim Considerations for Phased Implementation of COVID-19 Vaccination and Sub-Prioritization Among Recommended Populations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/phased-implementation.html (last visited Jan. 23, 2020).
[xv] Anya Kamenetz, Amid Surges, Teachers Line Up For Their Vaccines, NPR (Jan. 13, 2021 5:00 AM), https://www.npr.org/2021/01/13/955602188/amid-surges-teachers-line-up-for-their-vaccines.
[xvi] Where Teachers Are Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine, Educ. Week (Jan. 15, 2021), https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/where-teachers-are-eligible-for-the-covid-19-vaccine/2021/01.
[xvii] Slaby, supra note 3.
[xviii] Zimmerman, supra note 7. Children under 16 are not yet approved for the vaccine. Id.
[xix] See Kamenetz, supra note 15.
