White House: Vaccinating teachers is not a 'requirement' to reopen schools

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Press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday said the White House believes vaccines for teachers are not a prerequisite to reopening schools – but instead, a recommended "mitigation step."

Psaki’s comments come after Vice President Kamala Harris was asked during an interview on NBC’s "Today" whether the White House believed it was safe for teachers to return to the classroom without a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

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Harris said she and President Biden believe teachers should "be a priority" in terms of receiving the vaccine, but that it is a decision left up to the states.

During the White House press briefing Wednesday, Psaki, referring to vaccinating teachers, said "neither the president nor the vice president believe that it is a requirement."

"The CDC guidelines included a range of mitigation steps, including vaccinations, as recommendations," Psaki explained, adding that other steps included "social distancing and the need for smaller class sizes."

"At the same time, the president and vice president both believe teachers should be prioritized," she continued. "That is up to the states to decide."

Psaki was pressed again on whether the White House would mandate the states to prioritize teachers for vaccinations.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

"We can provide federal guidelines," she said, adding that the White House works "in close partnership with states to make recommendations of prioritization and they implement."

Psaki added that both Biden and Harris have used "the power of the presidency and the power of the vice presidency" to convey their position in the last 24 hours, which is that vaccinations for teachers are "not a requirement to reopen schools, but we believe that teachers should be prioritized."

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Psaki’s comments come after Harris on Wednesday morning appeared on NBC’s "Today" show and said the administration believes teachers "should be a priority" in receiving the coronavirus vaccine as parents and educators clash over whether it is safe for teachers to return to classrooms without inoculations against COVID-19.

"Teachers should be a priority. Teachers should be a priority," Harris said. "Teachers are critical to our children’s development, they should be able to teach in a safe place and expand the minds and the opportunities of our children, so, teachers should be a priority along with other front-line workers."

She added: "We’re going to make them a priority."

When pressed on whether it was safe for teachers to return to the classroom without a vaccination, Harris said the administration thinks "they should be a priority."

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"And the states are making decisions individually about where they will be on the list of who gets vaccinated. I believe they should be a priority," she said. "The president believes they should be a priority."

The back-and-forth over vaccinating educators comes as the White House on Wednesday announced that the U.S. is now averaging 1.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered daily – up from an average of 900,000 shots per day one month ago. The latest data reflects an increase of 200,000 doses from the week prior.

The Biden administration had set a goal to achieve 100 million vaccinations within the president's first 100 days in office, with current data reflecting a pace that would surpass that goal.

The White House also announced this week that the Biden administration is increasing its vaccine supply to states to 13.5 million doses per week – an increase from the 10 million doses per week the White House had previously announced.