BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE FALL

In a sign of how well the Biden Administration has tackled the pandemic, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged schools to reopen in the fall.

The CDC recommended that unvaccinated students and staff continue to wear masks and schools should use local health data to guide decisions about whether everyone should wear masks and/or continue to socially distance. In New York City, for example, schools are currently planning to continue to require all students to use masks this fall.

The CDC’s guidance makes clear that vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports. Right now, children under age 12 are not eligible for the vaccine so we need to make sure all eligible children are vaccinated and ready to return to school in the fall. The CDC made it clear that it is important for students to return to in-person schooling after months of virtual learning. We should remind all school-age kids 12 and over that the vaccine is safe, effective, and the best way get back to class and spend time with friends.

The CDC’s guidance makes clear that vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.

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DELTA VARIANT SURGES AMONG THE UNVACCINATED

After months of declines in the number of new COVID-19 cases, new cases are rising again with the more dangerous and more contagious Delta variant accounting for most of the new cases.

The surge in new cases is primarily happening in states and counties with lower vaccination rates. States like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia are still seeing declining cases because most of the eligible population is fully vaccinated. Massachusetts leads in vaccination rates among our 1199SEIU regions, with over 62 percent of people fully vaccinated while Florida lags, with 47 percent. Florida is also undergoing an increase in new cases. However, experts remind us that if we see increases in any part of the country, unvaccinated people are at risk even in states like New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. The vaccines currently approved for use in the United States are safe and effective against the Delta variant. We all need to continue to encourage our family, friends, and co-workers to get the vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones.

The vaccines currently approved for use in the United States are safe and effective against the Delta variant.

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NYC! SIGN UP FOR THE TRUST OUR VOICES RALLY ON 7/22

New York Presbyterian’s policy of mandatory vaccination is unacceptable and unnecessary. We will not allow NYPH and other institutions to take away our voices and mandate vaccinations. Join us at noon on July 22 at New York Presbyterian Hospital at 168th St. and Fort Washington Ave. in Manhattan and tell NYPH to educate, not mandate!

Sign up now!