As of today, all New York City public school staff are required to have their first dose of the COVID vaccine. In recent days, the number of educators getting vaccinated has gone up substantially, just as it did when the mandate for health care workers went into effect last week. But there are still thousands of education department employees who are not vaccinated and are barred from coming into buildings today. Administrators have warned of staffing shortages.

WNYC's Jessica Gould spoke with Morning Edition host Michael Hill.