virus is surging in the very worst parts of the up tick, and right now in chicago, it s going straight up, that is a time if you re in there in the building, you re at the most risk of getting the virus. we re not in the early days of the pandemic, though. we re not in the early days of the pandemic. it s not march 2020. that s true, but we re in the highest part of the omicron surge. that s the issue. and when there s 20% positivity or higher, people are very concerned in talking about a vaccine evasive variant, they re talking about going into the building and essentially getting sick. and in fact, even in places that haven t done testing or haven t had temporary pauses, the temporary pause gets imposed by the virus, so i think that s the situation we re in, is like we re in a very bad situation, the virus is running rampant right now in the city of chicago. jesse, there are some parents, and you talked about the inequities that black and
will have the counsel classes tomorrow. it doesn t mean that the schools will be closed. the schools will be open but i will have to cancel classes tomorrow because i can t, i have to be responsible in not knowing who s going to be showing up to the buildings. joining us now, jesse sharky, the president of the chicago teachers union. thank you for being with us. first, have you taken the temperature of your membership? do you expect that there will be this vote which could lead to the walkout? good afternoon, and we have. we did a telephone town hall on sunday. 8,000 people on it, so we have been in constant touch with the members. okay. so will there be a walkout. do you expect that you ll vote that the membership will vote to demand virtual? well, we re trying to stay in in-person school, and our members have been in front of students in in-person school all school year since the fall. the difficulty is that the omicron variant is surging, and we don t have adequate testing
house, there s this pandemic going, and we re not sure how safety is going to be, how the health system is going to be. there s a lot going on. it s still a trying time, and you find out who you ve got in your family, who you re married to, who you re raising, because you can t escape them at that point. you have explained it perfectly to us, all of the challenges and how you both have your hands full, so thank you very much and we ll be watching closely what happens later today with this vote. thank you. good luck to your family. president bideted by covid in the country, but he says they are making progress, so will his plans be enough? that s ahead. recommended brand, helps keep baby s skin drier and healthier. so every touch will protect like the first. pampers it s time for our lowest prices of the season on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it senses your movements and automatically adjusts to relieve pressure points. and its temperature balancing so you both sleep just rig
and those school districts especially for extended periods of time for the flu. your reaction to that? well, the positivity rate in chicago is higher than 23%. the problem is that among 5 to 11 year olds, among black children in chicago, and so, you know, what we re talking about is the very highest part of a surge and if we have testing, if we had a way to help ensure the people coming into the buildings weren t carrying the omicron variant, that would be a different matter but that s not what s going on right now. and so, you know, the teachers are being put in the unfortunate situation where we re trying to keep people safe. we re trying to run school, and we re not being given the tools to do it. by the administration and the city, i should add, and in that situation, we have huge other options left. well, jesse, you say that you
holdouts who do not want to hear trump preach about vaccines. cnn s tom foreman has more. i recommend take the vaccines. i did it. it s good. take the vaccines. but you got no, no, that s okay. reporter: boos from his own crowd scorned from his dedicated fans. both the president and i are vaxxed, and did you get the booster? yes. i got it, too. okay. so no, don t, don t, don t. reporter: donald trump is increasingly talking up the vaccine and getting heat for it. ridiculed in cartoons, secured in right wing media p. i m going to dish it all on trump. reporter: where alex jones told his followers trump is getting and giving bad advice on the vaccine. it s so people can know how pathetic he is when you think he s playing 40 chess going to save you and it s not. reporter: vaccine resistance is so high among republicans 4 in 10 were unvaccinated going into the holidays compared to about 1 in 10 democrats.