Should Teachers Get Coronavirus Vaccine Priority? [POLL]

NEW YORK — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities should be the first in line to receive the vaccine for the new coronavirus in what they are calling phase 1a.

Next up, in phase 1b, the CDC is recommending "frontline essential workers," such as firefighters, police and correction officers, workers in food and agricultural workers, the United States Postal Service, manufacturing, grocery stores, public transit and those in the educational sector.

So far, the vaccines that New York has received are being given to hospital workers, such as those in intensive care and emergency departments, and nursing home residents and staff.

Long-term and congregate care residents and staff, EMS workers and other health care providers, coroners and medical examiners are next in line in the state, the Buffalo News reported.

What the next phase — phase 2 — will offer is not yet publicly known, but is said to include "priority general public." They will be people with certain underlying health conditions and essential workers.

The president of the New York State United Teachers union, Andy Pallotta, issued a statement saying both teachers and support staff should be given priority access to the coronavirus vaccine.

Teachers getting the vaccine sooner rather than later is something in which Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believes.

In a recent interview with California State University Chancellor Tim White, Fauci spoke of his new role as chief medical adviser for President-elect Joe Biden.

Fauci said one of his top priorities will be getting schools safely reopened and getting teachers vaccinated against the coronavirus, EdSource reported.

"It's extremely important to get children back in school and kept in school," he said. "The idea of vaccinating teachers is high up in priorities."

Fauci said the goal would be to keep the rate of infection low so schools don't have to be shut down every time a student gets infected.

So now it's your turn to weigh in on the issue. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.