Terry McAuliffe Calls on Child Care Providers to Require Employees to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines to Keep Virginia Children Safe & Economy Strong

From the Terry McAuliffe for Governor campaign:

Terry McAuliffe Calls on Child Care Providers to Require Employees to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines to Keep Virginia Children Safe & Economy Strong

MCLEAN, VA – Following new reporting on the uptick of COVID-19 hospitalizations of children, Terry McAuliffe called on all child care providers in Virginia to require their staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Terry’s previous calls for employers, school divisions and universities, health care systems and nursing homes to require the COVID-19 vaccine for their employees. Terry for Virginia was also the first campaign in the nation to require its staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

In Virginia, there have been 1,432 total hospitalizations of patients under the age of 17 with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Just last week, there were at least 252 pediatric patients hospitalized for suspected or confirmed COVID infections, the highest since the pandemic began. Right now, 76% of all ICU beds in Virginia are occupied. Terry is committed to following the science to end COVID-19, and he believes the only way to end this crisis and protect Virginia children from this deadly virus is by getting every eligible Virginian vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“The only way we are going to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, maintain our strong economy, and keep children safe is by making sure every eligible Virginian is vaccinated. That is why today I am calling on child care providers to require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Terry McAuliffe. “My opponent Glenn Youngkin refuses to support vaccine requirements for educators, health care workers, and state employees, and he’s promised to repeal critical COVID safety measures on Day One if he’s elected. Virginia parents deserve to know their children will be kept safe, and that’s exactly what my plan does.”

Getting Virginians vaccinated is critical to the health, wellbeing and future of the 500,000 Virginian children under the age of five who will not be eligible for the vaccine even after the next phase is approved. Last week, Terry released his 20th policy plan, Virginia is for Vaccine Lovers, which outlines his vision to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and build a stronger economy. The centerpiece of his plan is getting every eligible Virginian vaccinated, keeping Virginia’s schools open, and keeping the economy strong. As Virginia’s next governor, Terry will continue to lead on COVID-19 by following the science and guidance of experts and getting every eligible Virginian vaccinated. Terry will create incentives for businesses that mandate vaccines for employees, which will allow them to offer retention bonuses for staff, make paid leave available, and more. Terry will also leverage federal funds to expand access to affordable child care and before and after school programs so parents can stay in the workforce and educators can address learning loss for students.

While Terry has demonstrated his ability to rebuild Virginia’s economy after a crisis and has consistently been a leader on COVID-19 safety, Glenn Youngkin continues to support reckless policies that put Virginians’ health and the economy at risk and spread anti-vaccination rhetoric. On the debate stage last week, Glenn made clear he even opposes requiring nurses treating immunocompromised cancer patients to be vaccinated. In addition to opposing mask and vaccine mandates, Glenn has encouraged students to take non-medical and non-religious exemptions to avoid getting vaccinated. He has said he would model his governorship after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s failed leadership, and he has even called bills to withhold funding for schools shut down due to high COVID-19 infection rates “the greatest thing that I’ve seen.”

Terry has released 20 detailed plans to strengthen Virginia’s education system and dramatically increase teacher pay, help secure Virginia’s economic recovery from COVID-19, reform our criminal justice system, ensure Virginians have access to regular nutritious meals, address the broken, predatory system of prescription drug pricing, confront the gun violence epidemic, make Virginia the best state in the nation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Health Care (STEM-H) and computer science education, tackle the housing crisis in the Commonwealth and invest in Virginia’s workforce in the post-COVID economy, ensure Virginians have access to high-quality, affordable health care, tackle climate change and secure Virginia’s clean energy future by 2035, lift up Black Virginians as the Commonwealth rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, further advance LGBTQ+ rights, create a flourishing rural economy, support entrepreneurial ecosystems and tackle rising costs and meet the health care needs, make higher education more affordable, boost Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries, and protect seniors from COVID-19 and ensure quality and affordability later in life and tackle the COVID-19 crisis.