These changes are occurring amid a nationwide vaccination campaign where children as young as twelve can get shots. There has also been a decline in COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations.
"We're at a point in the pandemic we're all excited about." It's time for us to update our guidance, stated Erin SauberSchatz, who heads the CDC task force which prepares recommendations to protect Americans from COVID-19.
The country's leading public health agency does not advise schools to give shots to teachers or children who are vaccine-eligible. It doesn't offer any guidance to teachers on how they can determine which students have been vaccinated, nor how parents can tell which teachers have been vaccinated.
This will likely make it difficult for schools, according to Elizabeth Stuart, a John Hopkins University professor of public health who has children in middle and elementary schools.
"It would make a strange dynamic socially to have some children wearing masks and others not. How do you track that? She said that teachers shouldn't have to keep track of which children should wear masks.
Another problem: According to the CDC, schools should keep children and their desks at least 3 feet apart in classrooms. The agency stressed that children should not be denied access to schools because of their spacing. It also stated that distancing is not necessary for fully vaccinated staff or students.
Sauber-Schatz stated that all of these recommendations may be difficult to implement.
Middle schools will pose the biggest problems, as some students may be eligible for shots while others are not. Administrators might decide to keep an existing masking policy in effect for all students if sorting unvaccinated from vaccinated students becomes too difficult.
Sauber-Schatz stated that the guidance was written to allow for flexibility at the local level.
The issue is further complicated by state mandates. California, Virginia, and other states have policies that require all students to wear masks to school, regardless of their vaccination status. However, governors and legislators in other states like Arizona, Iowa, and Texas have prohibited local school officials from mandating masks.
In some of the country's most populous school districts, mask-wearing will continue in the fall. However, it is not expected to be as widespread in other areas. Detroit's public schools will require everyone to wear a mask, unless everyone has been vaccinated. Philadelphia had planned to require masks. However, the school district was reviewing the policy based upon the new CDC guidance. The Texas law will mean that Houston won't require masks.
Consider requiring COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for school attendance. This is a common practice in the United States to stop measles spread.
Although the CDC has praised these requirements repeatedly, the agency did not recommend them Friday because they are considered a state- and local-level policy decision.
Health officials were concerned that schools could become coronavirus hotspots, triggering outbreaks in nearby communities. Studies have shown that schools are less likely to be infected than the community if certain preventive measures are taken.
This new guidance is the latest revision of advice that the CDC made to schools last year. The CDC dropped the recommendation that children and their desks should be placed 6 feet apart and instead recommended 3 feet.
The new guidance for schools says:
Masks are not required for recess and in outdoor settings. Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear masks when they are in large crowds, such as at a football match.
Handwashing and entilation are still important. Staff and students should also stay at home if they become ill.
Vaccination testing is still a good way to prevent any outbreaks. However, the CDC states that people who have been fully vaccinated are not required to take part in screening.
Separating students into smaller groups or cohorts continues to be a good way of reducing the spread of the virus. The CDC cautioned against separating unvaccinated students into separate groups. Schools shouldn't be able to stigmatize or continue academic, racial, or other tracking.
Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association, described the new CDC guidance as "an important roadmap to reduce the risk of COVID-19 schools"
Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers, praised the guidance for being "grounded both in science and common sense."
"Our ultimate goal is to get students, teachers, and staff back into school buildings full-time, and to make it safe while doing so," she stated in a statement. She also said that many of the union's affiliates have vaccine clinics.
Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary for Education, pledged to work with schools in order to get children back to school.
He stated that he knew that in-person learning provides vital opportunities for students to form healthy, nurturing relationships between educators and peers. Students also receive essential support in school for academic success, social and emotional well-being, mental health, as well as their social and psychological wellbeing.
