Local school districts react to CDC's announcement of reopening schools

LOS ANGELES - The director of the CDC announced Wednesday that schools can safely reopen even if teachers are not vaccinated for the coronavirus.

But this news has several local school districts in Southern California puzzled, saying that the CDC’s announcement contradicts what they’ve said before.

At Norco Unified School District, where they were set to reopen schools in mid-January, there is a sense of mistrust. Governor Newsom’s Stay-at-Home order cancelled their plans and even now with the order lifted Riverside County remains in the purple tier, which would prohibit in school teaching.

Local school districts react to possible reopening

School districts in several Southern California counties seem puzzled by the CDC's announcement of reopening schools, saying that it seems to contradict what they’ve said before.

"I don't think that we have to have 100% of the teachers vaccinated, 100% of the kids vaccinated - that will help eventually - but in the interim, to be able to go back to school, I think it's perfectly fine just observing cautions," said Dr. Daisy Dodd a Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente.

Yet, just this week, Newsom asked teachers to return to schools, even without vaccinations. He has been criticized for not handling the vaccine distribution effectively.

Now the CDC says the same… which just happens to be right after President Biden took office, with a pledge to reopen schools within his first 100 days in office. However, there isn’t enough vaccines to get all educators vaccinated by that time.

CDC: Schools can reopen without teachers getting COVID-19 vaccine

The Director of the CDC says schools can safely reopen even if teachers are not vaccinated for the coronavirus.

"What they’re saying is it’s going to be safe if the guidelines are followed - how we know the guidelines are going to be followed, and is it a one size fits all for all school districts? We already know that’s not true," exclaimed Venus Burnley a 5th grade teacher at Limerick Elementary School.

"We want children to come back to school, but we want to make sure they’re safe and we want to make sure all of our teachers and educators are safe as well," said LACOE Superintendent Dr. Debra Duardo.

Teachers’ unions and several districts would prefer their staffs vaccinated before schools reopen.

Some school officials we spoke to say students are getting caught in politics maneuvering.

FOX 11’s Chelsea Edwards contributed to this story

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COVID-19 and Schools Education Los Angeles County