According to new guidelines issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, students who have been vaccinated do not need to wear masks in school this fall unless they are riding the school bus or their school determines otherwise.
Parents who were previously uncertain may be encouraged by the advice. Children over the age of 12 are eligible for the Pfizer vaccination, which is administered in two doses three weeks apart.
“One of the most essential initiatives to assist schools safely resume full operations is to achieve high levels of COVID-19 immunization among eligible children, teachers, staff, and household members,” the CDC noted.
The CDC also advises that all bus drivers and passengers, whether or whether they have been vaccinated, wear a mask when going to school.
The most contentious issue for schools will most likely be whether or not to require evidence of immunization. With rare exceptions, most schools currently demand documentation of childhood vaccinations.
“We do allow for flexibility in our recommendations,” said Capt. Erin Sauber-Schatz, a member of the CDC’s COVID response team who assisted in the writing of the guidelines.
Finally, “this is basically about safeguarding kids who are either not yet eligible for vaccine owing to their age, or those who are not completely vaccinated,” she explained.
Many companies have been hesitant to require vaccinations or ask for proof, resulting in a sort of honor system. That may change in a few months, according to health experts, if federal authorities provide full permission to the vaccinations, which are now being administered under emergency authorization.
Many schools are likely to create their own rules nonetheless, even if the CDC advises against it.
The CDC’s objective, according to Sauber-Schatz, was to create usable guidelines for all schools, even those who planned to forego mask regulations.
Parents should also be aware that their kid is not “completely immunized” until two weeks following their second vaccination. Because the injections are three weeks apart, an adolescent who wants to be completely vaccinated by mid-August will need to have their first vaccine now.
“The message is basically that if your child is vaccine-eligible, now is the time to be vaccinated,” Sauber-Schatz said.