1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:08,239 Speaker 1: Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day three and 2 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: thirty one since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Today's 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: main story in Chicago, after a heated negotiation, public officials 4 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: and teachers unions are getting close to an agreement about 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: whether and when to return to in person school. But 6 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: Chicago's fight is one that's playing out in cities all 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: over the country. But first, here's what happened in virus 8 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: News today. Early data suggests the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine 9 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: is only effective against mild and moderate disease caused by 10 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: the South African strain of coronavirus. Astra said in a 11 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: statement that there isn't enough information yet to say whether 12 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: it's effective at preventing severe COVID nineteen cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. 13 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: The company said work was already under way to adapt 14 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: the vaccine to deal specifically with the South African variant, 15 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: and that a new version could be available by the fall. 16 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 1: South Africa, where over of new cases are the more 17 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: contagious strain first identified there, will temporarily halt the rollout 18 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: of the astro vaccine. The country plans to accelerate its 19 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: supply of shots from Johnson and Johnson and Fiser Dr 20 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: Anthony Fauci warned Americans not to delay their second dose 21 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: of the coronavirus vaccine. That came after other health experts 22 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: suggested recently there may be a benefit to pushing more 23 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: people to get a first shot and delaying follow ups. 24 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: Fauci said the scientific data it's strongly to the benefit 25 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: of following the recommended timetable for the two doses, and 26 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: that US vaccine supply should improve in February and March 27 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: as the manufacturing capability escalates. Finally, President Joe Biden's that 28 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: it's unlikely the US will reach herd immunity for the 29 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: coronavirus before the end of the summer. Herd immunity means 30 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 1: enough people become resistant to the disease that it spread 31 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: becomes unlikely. In the US, logistical delays and vaccine shortages 32 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: have meant only a small fraction of the population has 33 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: received shots since two different vaccines became available in December. 34 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: Biden spoken an interview with CBS News that aired on 35 00:02:48,800 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: Sunday and Now for Today's main story. This weekend, Chicago 36 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: public schools reached at tentative agreement with its teachers to 37 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: resume in person learning later this week. The deal isn't final, 38 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: and it's the latest in a series of tents back 39 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: and forth between the city schools and its teachers unions. 40 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: The bitter fight in Chicago echoes other big cities. I 41 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: spoke to Chicago based reporter Truthi Singh, who explained that 42 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: tensions have escalated coast to coast between unions fearing the 43 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: spread of COVID nineteen and local officials under pressure to 44 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: get teachers back into the classroom. As school districts across 45 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: the US face the very difficult decision about whether and 46 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: how to bring students back to in person teaching, schools 47 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: in Chicago have been facing a particularly difficult path. Can 48 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: you give us maybe just a brief lay of the 49 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: land in terms of what's been going on in the city. 50 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: It has been a long year, and uh, a lot 51 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: of kids have not been in person school since about March, 52 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: so it's about ten eleven months. And now there are people, 53 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 1: whether it's parents or district officials or others starting to question, 54 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: you know, when do we go back to school. So 55 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: one of the concerns has come from or many of 56 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 1: the concerns have come from the teachers. They've brought questions 57 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: up regarding vaccinations, They've brought questions up regarding work from 58 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: home arrangements for those who are either at risk themselves 59 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: or may have a family member that may be at 60 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: risk if they are exposed to COVID nineteen. So over 61 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: several months, Chicago Public Schools in the Chicago Teachers Union 62 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: has been negotiating on how to bring teachers, staff and 63 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 1: students back into the classroom. I think both sides have 64 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: said that they want in person learning, but how to 65 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 1: do it and how to do it safely is the question. Now. 66 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 1: Over the last month or so, things have become a 67 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: little bit more tense as there was initially a mark 68 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: on the calendar for preschool and special education kids to 69 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: come back in early January UM, and then there was 70 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: a date for the kindergarten through eighth grade students to 71 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: come back as well. You know, a lot of there's 72 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: a lot of concern about that and those deadlines you know, 73 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,239 Speaker 1: that were set by the city. I think the teachers 74 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: were just not ready for those and you know, when 75 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 1: it comes to discussing the timeline of bringing students back 76 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: into the classroom, and of course teachers as well would 77 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: have been some of the key issues that say, the 78 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: teachers Union and the city have been wrestling over when 79 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: it comes to how essentially do we make classrooms safe. Well, 80 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: the two sides have been going over for ariety of issues, 81 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: including ventilation. There are safety committees that have been set 82 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: up at at the school level now, um there are 83 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: questions about sanitation ppe and also some of the issues 84 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,839 Speaker 1: that were remaining towards the end of negotiations over the 85 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: last few weeks have been things like vaccinations as well 86 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: as the accommodations for teachers and staff who may be 87 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: at risk themselves or may have family members at risk. 88 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: And in terms of these timelines that you you referenced earlier, 89 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: what has been the latest in terms of when Chicago 90 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: have wanted some students back in the classroom, what are 91 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: the new timelines. Well, so, initially the district as well 92 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: as Chicago Mayor Lory Lightfoot, had said they wanted preschool 93 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: and special education children to come back and about mid January, 94 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 1: and then a few weeks after that they were asking 95 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: for kindergarten through eighth grade students to come back. The 96 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: teachers would also be coming back under that previous plan 97 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: on a rolling basis now under the current tentative agreement 98 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: that the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union 99 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: have come at just over the weekend UM. The tentative 100 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: agreement outlines of framework where the earliest of the students, 101 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: which would be preschool and the special education kids, would 102 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: be coming back as early as this Thursday, But high 103 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: school is still an unknown right now. The district has 104 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: said they want to try to bring as many kids 105 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: back into school in person as possible, but right now 106 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: they haven't sort of laid out what the timeline and 107 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: what the return for in person for high school students 108 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: and teachers is going to look like. And I also 109 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: want to mention that this is an option that UM 110 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: the District is offering to parents, and not everybody has 111 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: chosen to come back in person. Even through eighth grade, 112 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: about sixty seven thousand students have indicated that they will 113 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: come back in person of that preschool through eighth grade 114 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: and special needs UM category. But that's out of a 115 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: pool of about two hundred and seven thousand or so. Now, 116 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: you know, there are a lot of moving parts in 117 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: terms of bringing students back at whatever age, and it 118 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: certainly might be the case that teachers don't necessarily feel 119 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: that their classrooms are safe to come back for them 120 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: to teach in what happens if a teacher says, I'm 121 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,719 Speaker 1: unwilling to come back to do in person teaching. So 122 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:36,599 Speaker 1: that has been actually a point of contention over the 123 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: last several weeks because when the earliest groups of teachers 124 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,599 Speaker 1: were being asked to come back, there were still negotiations 125 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: going on between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago 126 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: Teachers Union, and there were a certain number of teachers 127 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,280 Speaker 1: who said, I am going to continue to work remotely 128 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: as the union had voted to do, and not go 129 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,760 Speaker 1: into the school building. Some teacher is even chose to 130 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: work outside of their school building up to highlight some 131 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: of the concerns that they have. There was a certain 132 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: number of teachers given those actions that were considered absent 133 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: without leave, and some of those teachers were locked out 134 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: of the technology that's needed to teach remotely within the 135 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: school system. That has actually been a point of contention 136 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: between the district and the union, and so the union 137 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: has said, we will continue to work remotely until we 138 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 1: have an agreement and the district and the mayor. As 139 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: recently as Friday had said that if teachers who were 140 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,760 Speaker 1: required to come back today under the most recent deadline, 141 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: because there's been several deadlines, if they did not show up, 142 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: then they would be locked out. But then this tentative 143 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: agreement arrived over the weekend and that has been put 144 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: to the side for right now. As the US vaccine 145 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: distribution rollout pick up speed, a lot of people have 146 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: mentioned perhaps the need for teachers to be closer to 147 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: the front of the line, that um, they need to 148 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: receive their vaccines in order to be safe in the classroom. 149 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: Does this agreement or have has there been any discussion 150 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: about the ability for Chicago teachers to receive vaccines in 151 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: order to get back to get back to the classroom. 152 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: The teachers are in one B, which is the phase 153 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: that includes essential workers and those who are sixty five 154 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: and over, at least here in Illinois, I know from 155 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: state to state it differs a little bit, but they 156 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: are in the essential worker category and they are asking 157 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: the district to set aside and allocate a certain number 158 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: so that teachers can be prioritized on a rolling basis. 159 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: There's been a lot of back and forth about this, 160 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: but where things stand right now is that under the 161 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,839 Speaker 1: tentative agreement, there would be about fifteen hundred first doses 162 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: allocated per week to CPS, the Chicago Public Schools. You know, 163 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: we're recording this on Monday, February eighth, and today is 164 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 1: a day that a lot of decisions may be made 165 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: about the future of in person learning and the tentative 166 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: agreements between the teachers Union and the city in Chicago. 167 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: What are some of the decisions that may be made today, Well, 168 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: this has been an ongoing process for months. The two sides, 169 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: the Chicago Public Schools and the Teachers Union, have been 170 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: negotiating for months and now over the last few weeks, 171 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: in the last few days, there have been ongoing negotiations 172 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: and you know, certainly we saw updates throughout the weekend. 173 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: Right now, where things stand is that the Chicago Teachers 174 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: Union is reviewing and assessing the most recent tentative agreement 175 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: tentative proposal that the city has put forth, and they're 176 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: going to assess it with their governing body, which is 177 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: called the House of Delegates and their rank and file members. 178 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: So we're all waiting to see what the latest update 179 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:08,040 Speaker 1: might be. It could be an time. That was Shruthie 180 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: Sank and that's it for our show today. For coverage 181 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: of the outbreak from one D and twenty bureaus around 182 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: the world, visit bloomberg dot com slash Coronavirus and if 183 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: you like the show, please leave us a review and 184 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's the best 185 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: way to help more listeners find our global reporting. The 186 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: Prognosis Daily Edition is produced by Toph for foreheads Magnus 187 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: Henrickson and me Laura Carlson. Today's main story was reported 188 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: by Shruthi Sank. Original music by Leo Cedrin. Our editors 189 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: are Rick Shine and Francesco Levi. Francesco Levi is Bloomberg's 190 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: head of podcasts. Thanks for listening.