CDC: Go Back to School, Vaccinated Teachers and Students Don’t Have to Wear Masks

MARY CHASTAIN JUL 9, 2021 3:00 PM

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged schools to open in the fall, but with some restrictions because of course. Cannot give up the power just yet!

The CDC recommends:

• Students benefit from in-person learning, and safely returning to in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.
• Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.
• Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.
• CDC recommends schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk. When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking.
• Screening testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, contact tracing in combination with quarantine and isolation, and cleaning and disinfection are also important layers of prevention to keep schools safe.

Schools should also force the kids not eligible for vaccines (those under 12) to wear masks at all times:

Many schools serve children under the age of 12 who are not eligible for vaccination at this time. Therefore, this guidance emphasizes implementing layered prevention strategies (e.g., using multiple prevention strategies together) to protect people who are not fully vaccinated, including students, teachers, staff, and other members of their households. The guidance is intended to help administrators and local health officials select appropriate, layered prevention strategies and understand how to safely transition learning environments out of COVID-19 pandemic precautions as community transmission of COVID-19 reaches low levels or stops. This guidance is based on current scientific evidence and lessons learned from schools implementing COVID-19 prevention strategies.

Those in areas with rising COVID cases should get tested weekly. I swore I just read something that relying on testing is harmful because it leads to too many false positives and forces unnecessary quarantines.

The new recommendations mean teachers have to get back to work.

“There is no substitute for in-person learning,” said National Education Association President Becky Pringle.

It’s kind of funny to hear Pringle say that after what unions put kids and parents through last school year.

The private schools in Oklahoma City attended school all year. They wore masks and practiced social distancing. If a positive test came up they did not go overboard with quarantines. The school year went well!

The CDC kindly leaves schools wiggle room, but we all know everyone follows CDC guidelines:

This CDC guidance is meant to supplement—not replace—any federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools must comply. The adoption and implementation of this guidance should be done in collaboration with regulatory agencies and state, local, territorial, and tribal public health departments, and in compliance with state and local policies and practices.

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