Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci.
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  • "I absolutely lean strongly toward" vaccine mandates for teachers, Anthony Fauci told USA Today.
  • His comments come as children – many too young to be vaccinated – return to school.
  • Although the second-largest teachers' union has endorsed vaccine mandates, the largest one has not.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that he would "lean strongly toward" vaccine mandates being imposed for teachers as schools begin to reopen in the US.

The news comes as city, state, and federal agencies, as well as some businesses, started requiring vaccination for their employees.

Those responsible for another person have an "obligation" to protect the safety and health of those in their care, "be that the development of a child in a school or in my position as a physician who still sees patients," Fauci, the White House medical advisor, said in an interview with USA Today published on Sunday.

"Therefore, I absolutely lean strongly toward when people are in those positions, if they don't want to get vaccinated, I would mandate that they get vaccinated," Fauci said.

Even without a mandate, almost 90% of educators and school staff are vaccinated, according to the White House.

But as the Delta variant tears through the US, cases among younger people have been rising. Although the risk of severe disease is much lower among children than adults, experts are concerned about the long-term effects of COVID-19 in children.

There are concerns about how the Delta variant will impact the new school year, with elementary-school-aged children too young to get the vaccine, and some states ignoring Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance to make mask-wearing optional in schools.

Teachers' unions divided about vaccine mandates

Speaking with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Thursday, Randi Weingarten, president of the second-largest teacher's union in the US, the American Federation of Teachers, said she would support vaccine mandates, walking back the union's previous position.

"I do think the circumstances have changed, and that vaccination is a community responsibility," Weingarten told NBC's Chuck Todd.

But the US' largest union of teachers, the National Education Association (NAE), is yet to endorse vaccine mandates.

In a statement on Thursday, Becky Pringle, president of the NAE, said: "There are often complex medical issues at play, and we don't presume to understand them all," Education Week reported on Thursday.

"Everyone who can be vaccinated should be vaccinated and if they can't they should be tested on a regular basis," she said.

Vaccination policy should be negotiated at a local level, she said.

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