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While it is only July, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already released its guidance for the upcoming school year. The message that the CDC is sending is crystal clear. Getting kids back in school full-time should be the overriding priority.
Updated Guidance
The CDC released the updated guidance for K-12 schools on July 9. The guidance places a priority on returning students to school in a traditional format, recognizing that children benefit from in-person learning when compared to the virtual models. In addition to stressing the importance that students return to school in person, the CDC also provided a list of best practices to follow to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Promoting Vaccinations
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Not surprisingly, the CDC wants to lean heavily on vaccinations to keep schools operating safely. Erin Sauber-Schatz, lead for the CDC’s Community Interventions and Critical Populations Task Force, is encouraging parents to get their eligible children ages 12 and above to get vaccinated now. Because it takes five weeks to achieve full immunity once you start the two-dose Pfizer protocol, now is the time to get students vaccinated for a healthy return to school in the fall.
According to the latest CDC data, just 1 out of 3 kids ages 12 to 17 have received a COVID-19 vaccine. A primary goal over the next few weeks for the Biden administration is to increase this number before school is back in session. With some schools returning to the building in August, communities are running out of time to vaccinate students before they return to school.
Mask Mandates
The updated CDC guidelines state that fully vaccinated staff and students may not need to wear masks in the school setting. The drop of mask mandates for some schools could change the entire landscape of what in-person education looks like this fall for those students at the secondary level.
It should be noted that masks will still be required on school busses because this falls under the umbrella of public transportation. The CDC still mandates facial coverings on all forms of public transportation under federal authority.
All of the CDC mask recommendations in schools align with the organization’s general guidance for other settings.
What About the Unvaccinated
The biggest roadblock in the way of a return to normalcy for schools is that only those ages 12 and up are currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Most pharmaceutical companies are indicating that they will seek emergency use authorization (EUA) of a vaccine for younger children at some point this fall. Until then, schools will need to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of unvaccinated students.
Here are a few of the highlights of the new CDC guidance regarding the return to school.
- Masks – The CDC is still recommending that masks be worn by all people age 2 and older who are not fully vaccinated. This is especially important in indoor settings and where social distancing protocols cannot be followed.
- Three Feet of Physical Distance – Although six feet of distance had been the recommendation during the early days of the pandemic, the CDC has now updated their guidance to recommend that schools maintain at least 3 feet of distance between students. However, the CDC is clear that not being able to provide 3 feet of distance should not be a deterrent to opening schools. Instead, other mitigation strategies should be employed to contain the spread of the virus.
- Additional Mitigation Measures – The updated guidance also recommended additional mitigation measures to help to prevent virus transmission. This includes screening testing, proper ventilation, handwashing etiquette, and solid cleaning and disinfection practices.
- Identifying and Reacting to Positive Cases – In order to open safely, schools need to employ a robust quarantine and contact tracing program when positive cases are identified. Without these measures, the CDC said the virus will continue to spread.
- Local Involvement – The CDC also called out the importance of community officials to monitor local transmission, vaccination numbers, and screening testing.
States React to New Guidance
Many states have already reacted to the updated CDC guidance regarding school opening protocols. While some states will likely change their own local guidance to align with the official CDC guidance, others will push back on the recommendations.
The state of Rhode Island had previously stated that vaccinated students and teachers would not be required to wear masks. However, California took the opposite approach, recently announcing that masks will be required for all students, regardless of vaccination status. According to California’s Department of Public Health, the decision was made so that all kids are treated the same.
Some states will leave it up to the individual school districts to make decisions about mask mandates.
