Tipsheet

CNN Panel to Harris: Here's What the Science Actually Says About Schools Reopening

CNN called out Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday for her nonresponse to host Savannah Guthrie on schools safely reopening, particularly on the issue of whether teachers need to be vaccinated before teaching in-person.

Playing a few clips from that interview, anchor Poppy Harlow noted that Harris completely avoided the question.

"We’ve got a lot to get to but the answer the vice president gave to Savannah Guthrie in that great interview wasn’t actually an answer to Savannah’s question. Savannah's question was, ‘is it safe to send them back if they’re not vaccinated?’”

She then asked CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta what the science actually says about Guthrie’s question, noting that if she were a teacher watching she would be confused. 

"Yeah, no -- no doubt. I mean -- and this has become a point of provocation. What does the science show? The science shows that it is possible to open schools safely without teachers having necessarily been vaccinated," he said. "And I realize that there are a lot of people who are confused by that and maybe even a little frightened by that. But that is what the science is showing.”

He went on to say that early in the pandemic when there was limited data and uncertainty on this issue, it was understandable to err on the side of caution about sending kids and teachers back to school.

“We now have data,” he said, adding that there’s very low transmission in schools and “that was without the teachers being vaccinated.”