Whereas, since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priority has been to keep our members, our students, and our communities safe; and

Whereas, vaccines are a critical tool for controlling the spread of communicable disease in society, as we have seen from diseases like measles, polio and smallpox; and

Whereas, COVID-19 variants, such as the highly transmissible and dangerous delta variant, pose a substantial risk to unvaccinated populations, and mutations of these variants pose a risk to all, including the rise in pediatric COVID-19 cases by 84% in the first week of August, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, changing the circumstances of this public health crisis; and

Whereas, the challenge with eligibility for vaccination among children between the ages of 2-12 and the low vaccination rates among adolescents increase the risk of heightened transmission in schools, with evidence showing growing numbers of children with severe illness from COVID-19; and

Whereas, recent reports have showed that 99.5% of all hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are among individuals who are not fully vaccinated; and

Whereas, peer-reviewed research states clearly that for people who are pregnant or attempting to conceive a child, or for those who are breastfeeding, there is no known negative impact of the vaccine for them or their child. In fact, because pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine guidelines all urge pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19; and

Whereas, the Food and Drug Administration has granted full authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for individuals 16 years and older, and Moderna has submitted its submission for full authorization — a critical step in confirming the safety and efficacy of current COVID-19 vaccines; and

Whereas, the polarized political climate and ongoing vaccine misinformation campaigns have created troubling resistance to vaccination that has led to more than 40% of Americans remaining unvaccinated, and thereby an intense surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in many communities across the country; and

Whereas, since our initial resolution on January 9, 2021, titled, “Ensure safe, high-priority COVID-19 vaccines for all school employees,” 89% of CFT members have already been vaccinated, which is higher than the national and state average; and

Whereas, all CFT members work in the field of education, some in private schools and colleges but most in the public education system, and therefore, CFT and CFT members have a responsibility not only to our own health and safety but also to the health and safety of the students and communities; and 

Whereas, on September 9, 2021, President Biden released an action, “Path Out of the Pandemic,” which, among the six-point plan, includes calls on all states to adopt vaccine requirements for all school employees, directions for regular testing for students and staff, and provides resources to support timely review of vaccines for all school aged children; and 

Whereas, Governor Newsom has implemented a vaccinate verification and testing policy for all state employees and K-12 education workers which each school employer must implement by October 15; 

Therefore, be it resolved, that the CFT will continue to work with state agencies and employers to provide safe workplaces, including supporting vaccination policies such as vaccine verification and testing and vaccine mandates;

Therefore, be it resolved, that CFT will continue to advocate for other safety mitigation strategies including mask requirements, ventilation upgrades, and regular testing; and

Therefore, be it resolved, as employers implement vaccination policies, CFT will ensure that employees have a voice through the collective bargaining process to address the impacts on workers to ensure workers have a safe working environment and are treated fairly, including that valid religious exemptions and valid medical exemptions or deferrals are honored; and

Be it finally resolved, that the CFT will continue our own efforts to address lack of access and misinformation as we continue to support the efforts of vaccination among our members, the people we serve, and our communities.
 

• Passed by the Executive Council on September 10, 2021