The White House’s non-answers on reopening schools before teachers are vaccinated

The repeated statements were meant to be an implied and sometimes explicit contrast with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who regularly disregarded health officials.

When it comes to reopening schools, though, Biden’s administration is having a tough time signing on to the scientific conclusion of those same officials.

Repeatedly now — and twice on Wednesday morning alone — top officials have strained to avoid subscribing to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s position that schools can reopen without teachers being vaccinated.

This first reared its head two weeks ago. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky previewed upcoming guidance by saying the evidence pointed in that direction. White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded by saying, puzzlingly, that Walensky had made the comments “in her personal capacity” — even though she said it during an official administration briefing and later on TV.

The White House was then given two more chances Wednesday morning to subscribe to this guidance. But each time, it emphasized the first part — prioritizing teachers for vaccination — while talking around repeated efforts to get more of a commitment on the latter part.

Vice President Harris appeared on the “Today” show, where Savannah Guthrie asked her three times about it.

Harris responded the first time, “First of all, let me just say this, and the president has said it, and we’re all really clear: Teachers should be a priority.” She then talked about the importance of teachers.

Guthrie, obviously sensing Harris was avoiding a direct answer, pressed her again: “But if they’re not vaccinated, is it safe for them?”

Harris again avoided a direct answer, emphasizing the importance of other precautions in reopening schools. She then pivoted to talking about passing Biden’s coronavirus relief package, which funds safety measures for school reopenings.

Guthrie exasperatedly then tried again: “I don’t want to beat it to death, but I know there are teachers listening, and the CDC has said they don’t have to be vaccinated to go back to school. Of course it’s the priority –”

Harris then cut in, again focusing on only the one part of the CDC’s guidance: “We think they should be a priority.”

The scene was similar on CNN, where Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders was asked the same sort of questions.

Host John Berman, like Guthrie, made clear he didn’t think the White House was shooting straight. He said it “wasn’t a trick question” and asked Sanders whether the White House’s position matches the CDC’s that teacher vaccinations aren’t a prerequisite for opening schools.

Sanders offered much the same answer as Harris, focusing on prioritization of teachers but not the operative part of the question.

“The White House position is that — and the president and vice president believe that — teachers should be prioritized for receiving the vaccination, along with other front-line workers,” Sanders said.

“Is it necessary, though?” Berman asked. “That’s the question. It really is a yes-no question.”

Sanders did not provide a yes-no answer, though. “I think the president has been clear. The vice president has been clear. And I think I was really clear just now: that it is the administration’s position … that teachers should be prioritized for vaccinations.”

As Guthrie noted, though, that’s not really in doubt. Pretty much everyone agrees. The reason the CDC’s guidance was significant was because it said we could start reopening even if teachers aren’t vaccinated. There is a real and very valid question about whether the White House believes we should follow that guidance and, if so, how.

It’s possible the White House’s position might be nuanced and that it thinks other recommendations from the CDC’s guidance need to be in place as well. If so, officials could say that. But so far they have repeatedly avoided endorsing the position of the health officials whose scientific guidance Biden assured the nation would be the North Star of his administration’s coronavirus response.

Even the same morning of Harris’s and Sanders’s interviews, Anthony S. Fauci was on CBS News reiterating the CDC guidance and weighing in more robustly on the issue at hand.

“I think if you are going to say that every single teacher needs to be vaccinated before you get back to school, I believe quite frankly … that that’s a non-workable situation,” Fauci said. “I think teachers should absolutely be priority among those who we consider essential personnel. … But to make it a sine qua non that you don’t open school until every teacher is vaccinated, I think, is not workable.”

From there, the question is why. And there is a pretty obvious possibility that more than a few people have declared to be behind this: the fact that teachers unions — a key ally of the Democratic Party — have resisted this guidance, saying teachers need to be vaccinated.

Whatever one thinks of those unions, the views of teachers and their representatives are a valid consideration. And when it comes to implementing the Biden administration’s plans to reopen schools, it’s understandable that they would have a seat at the table. But there’s a difference between considering such practicalities and not acknowledging whether the scientific guidance of health officials is your own policy.

Biden has thus far received positive marks for his coronavirus response, including 58 percent approval in a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. But reviews of his handling of reopening schools are more mixed — 42 percent positive vs. 38 percent negative — reflecting how much this is an issue on which Americans are seeking answers.

When Psaki initially downplayed Walensky’s comments two weeks ago as being made in her personal capacity, Psaki added, “Obviously, she’s the head of the CDC, but we’re going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country.”

The guidance is out, and it says what Walensky indicated it would. The White House should probably decide whether that reflects its own position and, if not, explain why — if for no other reason than the high-minded standard Biden set for his administration.