CDC: Fully Vaccinated Individuals Don’t Need to Wear Masks in School

• Fully vaccinated individuals are no longer required to wear masks in school, according to the latest CDC guidance.
• According to the agency, the aim is a return to in-person learning.
• The CDC informed parents that it’s not too late to make sure their kids are fully vaccinated by the start of the school year.

The latest mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer requires fully vaccinated students and teachers to wear masks in school.

The CDC has been gradually loosening the mask guidelines as the vaccination rate in the U.S. increases.

The latest CDC guidance now only requires masks indoors for individuals aged 2 and older who have not been fully vaccinated.

Nearly half (159.3 million people) of the total U.S. population have been fully vaccinated as of Sunday. As reported by NPR, 1 in 3 children (aged 12 and up and currently eligible for vaccination) have received the vaccine.

The CDC continues to encourage all eligible individuals to receive the vaccine.

“Vaccination is currently the leading public health prevention strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency stated. “Promoting vaccination can help schools safely return to in-person learning as well as extracurricular activities and sports.”

The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has dropped to an average of 19,000 new infections a day.

However, the situation is different across states. States with high vaccination rates report a drop in cases while states with low vaccination rates struggle with a new wave of infections brought on by the highly contagious Delta variant.

While wearing masks in school is no longer required for vaccinated individuals, the CDC still recommends “at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms,” proper ventilation, handwashing, and cleaning. Any sick student or staff is also advised to stay home.

With the aim being a return to in-person learning, the CDC stated that schools’ ability to follow the recommended physical distance guidelines is not a factor in their ability to reopen.  

Dr. Anthony Fauci also expressed support for schools reopening by fall during a recent interview with NBC Nightly News.

Still, the mask guidance will ultimately depend on state and local health officials.

In California, all K-12 students will still be required to wear masks indoors as a precaution. This will also prevent children from feeling “different or singled out for being vaccinated or unvaccinated,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said last week, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.

In other states like Texas and Arizona, masks are no longer required.

“For families who haven’t gotten their kids vaccinated yet, now is the time. It takes five weeks to get fully vaccinated,” CDC official Erin Sauber-Schatz told NPR on Friday. “If you got your first shot today, the second would be July 30, and you’d be fully vaccinated on Aug. 13. So now’s the time if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet.” 

Source: People