Legislators Urge Earlier Vaccinations For Washington's Teachers

OLYMPIA, WA — Leaders from Washington's legislative education committees are calling on Gov. Jay Inslee and state Secretary of Health Umair Shah to revise the state's coronavirus vaccination plan to allow all educators to receive immunizations beginning in February.

Related: Washington's Next Coronavirus Vaccine Phase: Here's What To Know

Under the state's existing guidance for Phase 1B's four upcoming tiers, school employees ages 50 and older will be eligible for vaccines starting next month. However, a larger group of educators would not qualify until April.

A letter signed Monday by ranking education committee members in both chambers asks the state to reevaluate that plan, especially as more Washington school districts welcome students back to the classroom in the weeks ahead. Lawmakers wrote that making a large portion of teachers wait until the school year is nearly complete to be vaccinated was unacceptable.

The letter continues:

"Their school districts are expecting many, if not all grade levels, to soon be returning to the classroom to be potentially interacting with hundreds of students per day. We acknowledge the need to prioritize vaccines for older Washingtonians and strongly believe that educators should be equally prioritized with older Washingtonians, especially considering the essential service they provide."

The letter concludes with urging Inslee and Shah to revise Phase1B guidance to allow vaccinations for all school employees starting in tier two, scheduled to begin in February.

Monday's letter follows a similar request filed by Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau last week.

"Prioritizing vaccinations for public educators and critical support staff will send a strong message of the state's commitment to public education and care for our public educators when so much is uncertain," Juneau wrote. "This action will help build trust in our collective commitment to recovery."

Learn more about Washington's vaccination schedule via the state Department of Health.