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Nation's largest teachers union backs vaccine mandates

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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.

The differing perspectives shed light on a debate both unions are still grappling with internally as school officials, especially in the South, are battling with parents and governors over mask-wearing requirements and a troubling surge of infections among children.

AFT union officials instead voted to encourage its workers to negotiate potential mandates with local governments and school systems.

 

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