Not yet. But that could change any day now, given the recent trendline.
Yesterday Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told MSNBC, “yeah I’m going to upset some people on this, but I think we should [require educators to be vaccinated in order to protect children]. This is very serious business. You would wish that people would see why it’s so important to get vaccinated.”
This morning California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a mandate that all public school teachers receive the vaccine or get tested regularly:
JUST IN: California teachers and other school staff will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or submit to regular testing under a new order to be announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom later today.
— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) August 11, 2021
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City (with a school system the size of New Jersey’s state system) says that teachers have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 13th or submit to weekly testing. Same in Denver and Washington, DC.
And, of course, this week American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten came out in favor of vaccine mandates for teachers:
If we want schools to re-open in the fall for all kids, it is a community responsibility. – @rweingarten on vaccine and mask mandates on @ZerlinaShow
— AFT (@AFTunion) August 10, 2021
Will Murphy follow suit? The odds are high, especially after issuing a mask mandate for all students and school staff members. At a coronavirus briefing on Monday, the Governor told reporters, “this is something we’re working on right now. My guess is within the next two or three weeks, we’ll have something we’ll be able to put out there.” Also, NJ Education Association leaders, who work closely with Murphy’s office, have signaled their approval. Steve Baker, NJEA spokeman, told nj.com, “If the governor’s executive order requiring vaccination or regular testing in certain other sectors is extended to schools, we will work to ensure that it is implemented in a way that protects the health and welfare of everyone involved, In any case, we will continue to encourage and promote vaccination for school employees and all eligible New Jersey residents.”
Stay tuned.
