|
 Biden also announced that Merck & Co Inc would help make rival
Johnson & Johnson's single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, a partnership
similar to those seen during World War Two.
With three vaccines now available, Biden said he was confident there
would be enough vaccines available for each adult in the United
States by the end of May.
The Democratic president said he was upbeat about reaching his goal
of delivering 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100
days in office, but urged Americans to remain vigilant in wearing
masks and observing social distancing.
"Today's announcements are a huge step in our effort to beat this
pandemic," Biden said in a televised statement from the White House.
"But I have to be honest with you. This fight is far from over."
Biden's drive to get educators vaccinated more quickly comes amid a
political controversy that has pitted parents pushing for schools to
reopen against the teachers unions that helped put him in the White
House and say the risks are still too great.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers,
said Biden's announcement was "great news for everyone who wants
in-school learning."
Biden, whose new education secretary took office on Tuesday, said
increased production of the three vaccines would boost what he
called a "national imperative" to reopen U.S. schools given growing
mental health concerns and widening disparities caused by the
challenges of remote learning.
Biden said over 30 states had already taken steps to ensure
educators were vaccinated and that he was using the full authority
of the federal government to direct the remaining states to follow
suit.
"My challenge is this: We want every educator, school staff member,
childcare worker to receive at least one shot by the end of the
month of March," he said, noting that parents were exiting the labor
market in "astonishing numbers" to help their children learn
remotely.
[to top of second column] |
 To meet that goal, Biden said
the federal pharmacy program would prioritize
the vaccination of pre-kindergarten through
Grade 12 educators and staff, as well as
childcare workers.
He said he was still pushing to have most
schools open by the end of his first 100 days in
office, but added that it required passage of
the $1.9 trillion rescue plan working its way
through Congress. The plan includes some $130
billion for the nation's schools.
"Let's treat in-person learning like an
essential service that it is, and that means
getting essential workers (who) provide that
service - educators, school staff, childcare
workers .... vaccinated immediately," he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris swore in Education
Secretary Miguel Cardona at the White House on
Tuesday.
Cardona, the former head of Connecticut's
education department, pledged in an op-ed
published by USA Today on Tuesday to convene a
national summit on safe school reopening this
month.
He said the department would also act as a
clearing house for best practices and lessons
learned during the pandemic, while updating a
handbook of strategies for meeting students'
needs and addressing the loss of instructional
time.
He did not endorse calls for a national summer
school plan, but said academic enrichment
activities, including in-person accelerated
learning, tutoring, and mental health services,
could start to level the playing field for the
next school year.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Tim Ahmann and
Andrea Shalal; writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing
by Dan Grebler, Peter Cooney and Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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