Thread by @AFTunion

Airing now in Washington, D.C. & New York City:

@rweingarten joins @MeetThePress to discuss President Biden's plans to reopen schools, #COVID19 vaccinations, and more. Follow along here with the hashtag #ReopenSafely.

.@rweingarten: I want to dispel this myth that teacher unions want to keep schools closed. Teachers know how important in-person learning is important. I think we have a roadmap to #ReopenSafely, and with Biden's #AmericanRescuePlan, we'll have the resources.

.@rweingarten: It comes down to 3 things: Mitigation factors, testing for asymptomatic spread, and vaccination alignment with reopening of schools. #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: I think NYC is setting a good example of how schools can reopen. We just did a survey of our members, and 85% of our members said they'd feel comfortable going back into the classroom with safety guardrails & testing. #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: I want to lift up cities like DC, where the mayor made vaccines available to educators that wanted them. So have the governors in OR, WV, and OH. So when I hear Gov. Newsom say. there's a way out, why is he not prioritizing teachers for vaccination? #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: People are scared, and what we need to do is meet fear with facts, which is what we're trying to do. We've had 2 town halls with Dr. Fauci to talk about #COVID19 and the vaccine. #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: When people are in schools with the protocols in place, they trust it more. We have 71% of members concerned about bringing #COVID19 home. So we need to get these guardrails implemented. #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: If you put 6 ft of distancing in schools, you have about 60% of the school capacity in the building. The issue becomes: Do we have 30% more space? 30% more teachers? #ReopenSafely

.@rweingarten: We need to get as many people in person with safety strategies in place, get a good voluntary summer semester to get children back in the groove of learning, and plan for the fall. #ReopenSafely