The head of the American Federation of Teachers stated Sunday that she supports mandatory vaccinations for teachers in order to protect students younger than her.Randi Weingarten stated that she believes that the situation has changed and that vaccinations are a community responsibility. She said that it was a burden on her that children under 12 cannot get vaccinated. Randi Weingarten spoke to NBC News Meet the Press Sunday morning.The best way to combat COVID is with vaccines. The best way to combat COVID is vaccines. This has been a practice we have had since 1850. Randi WeingartenShe said that she believes we should be working together with our employers and not oppose them regarding vaccine mandates. The union argued that teachers should have the option to opt out of vaccinations last year.This change is occurring amid a strong push to return to in person classes. Many school districts are preparing for the fall semester in the coming weeks. However, mandatory vaccinations for teachers may delay some of these plans.The White House reported last week that approximately 90% of teachers and school staff in the nation have had the COVID-19 vaccination. However, many local schools districts and teachers unions, as well as many unions, have not supported mandatory vaccinations for their members.However, this is changing as the more contagious delta variant spreads across the country. More government agencies and private businesses are now imposing mandatory vaccinations at work.Weingartens union is America's second-largest teachers union. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said that any vaccine mandates should be administered at the local level.Although the Biden administration requires federal workers to be vaccinated, it prefers that any other workplace mandates are at the state or local level. This is supported by Dr. Anthony Fauci who is the chief medical advisor to the president.
