Vaccines for children could be a game changer
With the arrival of the Omicron variant, public health officials are once again strongly urging all eligible people to receive a COVID-19 vaccination – including children ages 5 to 11. But we know that some parents and educators have questions about COVID vaccinations for younger children.
Many of those questions were addressed in a recent AFT Facebook Live town hall that included Assistant Surgeon General Rear Admiral Aisha Mix, who is also known as the nation’s chief nursing officer, as well as AFT Massachusetts President Beth Kontos and parents from Massachusetts and Texas.
“There are 28 million kids in the United States who now have an opportunity to get vaccinated,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten, who hosted the event. “Nearly 1 million kids under the age of 12 got their first shot in the first week the vaccines were available. This may be the game changer for us to reopen schools and keep them open.”
Watch the town hall here, and check out this great write up from the AFT.
The school shooting in Michigan is another wake up call to end gun violence
Our thoughts are with the families and communities impacted by the horrific school shooting earlier this week at Oxford High School in Michigan. We continue to dedicate ourselves to ensuring that our schools are safe and welcoming places, where our children can thrive and everyone can count on being safe.
We join AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Michigan President David Hecker in calling on all elected officials to do what is necessary to protect students and staff from unspeakable tragedies like what happened this week.
Summer Assistance program for classified staff
The Classified School Employee Summer Assistance program saw increased funding again this year. It allows classified employees in K-12 districts to withhold up to 10 percent of their monthly salary during the school year, and receive that money — matched by the state up to a dollar for dollar — during the summer. Learn how your local union can participate.
Happy Hanukkah!
Happy Hanukkah! May your candles burn bright this season.
