Jill Biden hit the road on Wednesday to talk about school safety during the COVID pandemic after making her own return to in-person learning but wouldn't answer questions on whether there should be a vaccine mandate for classrooms.
'I don't think we're taking questions,' she said when she was asked by a reporter if public schools should have vaccine mandates.
President Joe Biden recently mandated vaccines for all federal workers and the Labor Department issued new regulations requiring businesses with more than 100 employees to have mandates or weekly testing.
Biden was in Milwaukee to talk school reopening and safety issues as students return to the classroom during the pandemic. She returned to her own in-person teaching job at a Northern Virginia Community College last week.
At the Marvin E. Pratt Elementary School she talked about the worries that come with returning to class during a pandemic.
'A simple cough can get your heart racing,' she acknowledged.
She called for unity, saying it was best for children.
'We can't know what the future holds, but we know what we owe our children. We owe them a province that will do all that we can to keep their schools open, and as safe as possible. We owe them a commitment to follow the science, and we owe them unity. So we can fight the virus, and not each other,' she said.
Jill Biden hit the road on Wednesday to talk about school safety during the COVID pandemic after making her own return to in-person learning
She would not answer questions on vaccine mandates for schools
After her remarks she spoke with educators and parents of students.
When one parent told her there had not been a debate about face masks in the school district, Biden praised them for being unified on the issue. Several states, like Florida and Texas, are fighting CDC recommendations for face masks in classrooms.
'That probably just takes that stress off of you as well,' she noted.
Biden and the participants in
