President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited a Washington, D.C.-area middle school Friday, where the president sought to promote his new COVID-19 vaccine policies and underscore the importance of proper safety requirements in the classroom as students across the country return to in-person learning.

What You Need To Know

  • President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited a D.C.-area middle school Friday, where the president sought to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and underscore the importance of proper school safety requirements as students return 

  • “We are going to partner with you,” Bien pledged, “because we can't always know what the future holds, but we do know what we owe our children”

  • His remarks come just one day after he unveiled a sweeping new federal vaccine mandate that could affect as many as 100 million Americans – an announcement that has sparked outrage from some Republicans and is almost certain to face a slew of legal challenges

  • “I am so disappointed that particularly some Republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities,” Biden said Friday, adding: “This isn’t a game”

His remarks come just one day after he unveiled a sweeping new federal vaccine mandate that could include as many as 100 million Americans – an announcement that has sparked outrage from some Republican lawmakers and is almost certain to face a slew of legal challenges. 

He also called out the handful of GOP governors who have banned mask mandates in their states, taking away one key tool that school districts have to fight the spread in classrooms.

“I am so disappointed that particularly some Republican governors have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities,” Biden said during a visit to Brookland Middle School in northeast Washington. "We're playing for real here. This isn't a game."

Speaking to teachers and students outside the school, Biden pledged, “We are going to partner with you. Because we can't always know what the future holds, but we do know what we owe our children.

“For any parent, it doesn't matter how low the risk of any illness is when it could happen to your child,” he continued. “But we all know if schools follow the science — and they are here — and implement safety measures like vaccinations, testing, masking, then children can be safe in schools, safe from COVID-19.”

Biden has encouraged every school district to promote COVID-19 vaccines for all eligible students, including providing on-site clinics to help protect students as they return to in-person learning.The administration is also sending additional federal support to assist schools in safely operating, including additional funding for testing.

In his remarks Friday, Biden praised Washington's high vaccination rate, noting that 65% of children ages 12 to 17 have gotten at least one shot.

“That’s incredible,” he said. “That's one of the highest rates in the nation for children between the ages of 12 and 17 for students here in Brookland.”

“Once you all get vaccinated, you're invited to a special visit at the White House,” Biden said to the students in attendance. “I’m not sure how we’re going to mechanically do it, but I assume the buses can get you to the White House.

"We’ll be out in the Rose Garden, or out in the back there, and maybe let you fly the helicopters,” he quipped. “I'm only joking about that.”

Jill Biden also appeared alongside her husband Friday and delivered brief remarks.

“As we move forward, it's going to take all of us — students and families, educators and local leaders, cities and states — coming together to make this school year the best it can be," she said. "Joe put students and their families (and) the educators at the heart of everything his administration is doing to defeat and recover from this pandemic. And as a teacher myself, I couldn't be more proud to stand beside him.

“We owe them a promise to keep their schools open (and) as safe as possible,” the first lady added. “We owe them a commitment to follow the science. We owe them unity, so that we can fight the virus, not each other.”

In his White House speech Thursday, the president delivered his most scathing criticism to date of the roughly 80 million Americans who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19.

"My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?” said. “We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us.”

Among President Biden's directives is a forthcoming requirement for private companies with 100 employees or more to ensure all their workers are fully vaccinated or that they produce a negative COVID test weekly, at a minimum. He's also ordering a vaccine mandate for federal employees without a testing option.

Asked Friday about potential legal maneuvering by Republicans to stop the enforcement of the new vaccine mandates, the president shot back, “Have at it.”