Driven by an increase in vaccine supplies, states and cities are rapidly expanding their eligibility for COVID-19 shootings to teachers, Americans over 55 and other groups, as the US struggles to defeat the virus and reopen businesses and schools.
Arizona, Connecticut and Indiana have opened the line to younger age. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are reserving the first doses of Johnson & Johnson’s new one-shot vaccine for teachers. In Detroit, too, factory workers can be vaccinated starting this week, regardless of their age.
Providing the vaccine to teachers and other schoolchildren “will help protect our communities,” said Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania. “She will take care of our parents and families. It will make our schools return to the task of teaching our children. ”
To date, the outbreak vaccination campaign, which has killed more than half a million Americans, has focused mainly on health care workers and the elderly.
In the US, politicians and school administrators have been working in recent weeks to reopen classrooms to stop students from falling behind and allow more parents to return to work instead of overseeing their children’s education. But teachers resisted returning without being vaccinated.
Jody Mackey, 46, a professor of digital history and history in Traverse City, Michigan – where students have participated for the most part since September – received the second dose almost two weeks ago, after teachers essential workers have been appointed from her district.
Prior to that, she kept the classroom windows open and used heaters.
“If you want schools to be successful and safe and you want your teachers to have their heads in the game, get them vaccinated,” she said. “Putting teachers in a situation where they feel scared all the time, in which they will want to avoid their children, how is this good for children or teachers?”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday ordered students and teachers to return to school later this month, saying many teachers have already received the second dose in the state’s early vaccination efforts.
“The science is clear: it’s time for all children to have the option to go back to school so they can get back on track and we can close the gap,” Ducey said in a statement.
The United States has administered nearly 80 million photos in a vaccination unit that has now caught up, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 20% of the nation’s adults or nearly 52 million people have received at least one dose, and 10% have been completely inoculated.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the United States expects to have enough vaccine by the end of May for all adults, two months earlier than anticipated, although it is likely to take longer than that to administer these fires. He also pushed states to receive at least one blow in the arms of teachers by the end of March and said the government would provide doses directly through its pharmacy program.
In Wisconsin, teachers will receive priority when the state receives its first shipment of about 48,000 doses of J&J vaccine, health officials said. Pennsylvania teachers will also be the first in line, with 94,000 doses of the J&J formula expected this week.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced this week that educators, school staff and child care workers can now be shot.
And in Massachusetts, about 400,000 teachers, childcare workers and school staff will be eligible to register for vaccinations starting March 11, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday, though he warned it could take some time to book appointments. because supply remains limited.
Tennessee will open vaccinations Monday to about 1 million people over the age of 16 who have high-risk health conditions and to those in medically fragile households.
The rush to vaccinate comes as many states ease restrictions on people and businesses, despite repeated warnings from health officials that the United States risks another deadly wave. Biden called on Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi on Wednesday for lifting his mask rules.
“We are on the verge of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease,” he said. “The last thing we need is for the Neanderthal to think that everything is fine in the meantime, take off your mask, forget it. It still matters. ”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has returned to Twitter. “Mississippi people don’t need manipulators. As the numbers drop, they can evaluate their choices and listen to experts, ”he said. “I think we just have to trust Americans, not insult them.”
While newly confirmed deaths and infections fell from their peaks in January, they are still at high levels. The US has an average of almost 2,000 deaths and 66,000 cases a day.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky encouraged Americans to “do the right thing” even if states lift restrictions.
Vaccinations are seen as the key to getting people back to work and revitalizing the battered economy.
“The sooner we can get a safe and effective vaccine, the sooner we can return to a sense of normalcy,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Wednesday, announcing that all people between the ages of 50 and 64 vaccinations can begin on March 22. .
Cindy Estrada, vice president of United Auto Workers, said there were illnesses and deaths among factory workers, so Detroit’s decision to offer them “is incredibly important.”
“It will give them some peace of mind,” she said as she spread her arm for a blow.
___
Associated Press writers Chris Grygiel at Olympia, Washington; David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; Ed White in Detroit; John Flesher in Traverse City, Michigan; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Terry Tang in Phoenix; and Alexandra Jaffe, Nancy Benac, and Zeke Miller of Washington contributed to this story.