Safe Schools Require Prioritizing the Vaccination of Educators
Governor Mike Parson, Dr. Randall Williams - Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Every state bordering Missouri is prioritizing the vaccination of educators. Yet, Missouri has not authorized the distribution of vaccines to educators statewide. This is unacceptable!
Missouri National Education Association president, Phil Murray, has written Governor Mike Parson urging him to prioritize educators for immediate vaccine distribution.
Take action to protect the health of students and educators by adding your name to the letter. Demand Governor Parson takes action.
You can read the letter below and sign-on using the easy tool on this page.
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To:
Governor Mike Parson, Dr. Randall Williams - Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Governor Parson:
On behalf of the 32,000 teachers, counselors, bus drivers, and school staff of the Missouri National Education Association and the 879,845 students we serve, we ask that you immediately prioritize COVID-19 vaccine administration for Missouri teachers and school staff.
For eleven months, educators have gone above and beyond to support students. All we have asked for are the resources to do so safely. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we too often found state and local leaders abandoning science and safety guidelines they found too inconvenient or too expensive. This pattern of neglect and ignoring inconvenient facts cannot continue.
Educators, students, and parents have done their part; our schools have been open since the beginning of the school year using hybrid or virtual instruction to support students while keeping them safe. Now, it is time for our state leaders to do their part by prioritizing the vaccination of teachers, school support personnel, and district staff.
Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska are all currently vaccinating educators, with Oklahoma announcing they will begin doing so in six days. If these states can prioritize vaccinating educators to resume full in-person instruction safely, why can't Missouri?
No one wants to return to in-person learning more than the educators who dedicate their lives to help their students succeed. That is why, for the last eleven months, educators, along with parents and students, have been calling for the prioritization of educators for vaccination and clear guidelines for the reopening of school buildings and campuses safely based on science.
In conjunction with non-profit groups, Missouri NEA has helped establish free drive-through COVID testing, developed criteria utilized by some districts to undertake safe instruction, and provided resources to support student well-being. As advocates for our students and local schools, we stand ready and willing to help implement efficient vaccination across the state for educators.