Every member of the MTA needs to take action now to urge the Baker administration to work with the MTA and other educator unions to make COVID-19 vaccinations available to all educators – from preK through higher education – in a thorough and timely manner. The Baker administration is delaying a safe return to in-person learning for students in our public schools and colleges by arbitrarily changing the priority of vaccine availability for preK-12 educators and failing to provide higher ed employees access to the vaccine at the same time that preK-12 educators are eligible.

We believe that by working with educators’ unions, Massachusetts can address both the needs of individuals at high risk from exposure to the coronavirus and those of educators, students and families hoping for a safe return to in-person learning.

Higher education workers are currently scheduled to receive the vaccine during Phase 3 of the rollout, while preK-12 educators are to receive it in Phase 2. Thirty-two states have prioritized preK-12 and higher education workers equally. But Massachusetts has not.

Many of our higher education members are working on their campuses, providing services and instruction that cannot be delivered remotely. These educators are at risk of exposure to the coronavirus. All of us want our higher ed campuses to reopen when it is safe for them to do so, and vaccines for higher ed workers will make that possible.

Massachusetts must join the other 32 states that are following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations. Those states are already scheduling higher education workers in Phase 2 or earlier.