They definitely opened in-person schools before there was a vaccine. There were modified schedules, but while my kids were in 100% remote ed, a lot of our district was on a hybrid schedule of staggered attendance w/masking. It may have been modified, but it was still in-person.
mtswIt's absolutely insane we've somehow let the Covid recriminations debate become like "why didn't we reopen in person schools before there was a vaccine" and not "why did none of the trump guys go to jail for stealing PPE from New York hospitals in March 2020"