Nation's largest teachers union backs vaccine mandates

The National Education Association endorsed Covid-19 vaccine requirements for school workers on Thursday, aligning itself with the Biden administration's push to get more Americans inoculated as the disease sends children to the hospital.

Teachers and other educators should have the option to submit to regular virus testing, NEA president Becky Pringle said, but she added her 3 million members should embrace vaccination, particularly as children return to classrooms for the new school year.

"We believe that such vaccine requirements and accommodations are an appropriate, responsible, and necessary step to ensure the safety of our school communities and to protect our students," Pringle said in a statement issued as the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers union, stopped short of fully endorsing vaccine requirements for its roughly 1.7 million members.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/12/teachers-union-aft-punts-on-vaccine-mandates-504164