CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has confirmed that her agency’s newly issued guidance states that it is possible for schools, even in areas with the largest distribution in the community, to reopen safely – at least in a hybrid way – without teachers are first vaccinated.
The CDC last week issued new guidelines emphasizing the “mitigation strategy” for low COVID transmissions.
“We plead with the strict mitigation measures … including universal and mandatory masking as well as a six-foot distance, that at least our K-5 children should be able to return to school in at least a hybrid mode,” Walensky said. said ‘Fox News Sunday’, referring to a model that would combine personal and distance learning.
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Walensky acknowledged that some measures, such as reducing the density of the classroom, would be more difficult to achieve, but this is only one step out of several proposed by the new leadership.
“This is a low mitigation approach,” Walensky added. “And what we put forward in this guidance is the road map to get us there.”
Some unions have argued that schools will not be willing to reopen fully before all school staff are vaccinated. Others went even further, saying it would not be safe to reopen then, claiming that schools need more money for better ventilation systems before students and staff can return safely.
The new guideline lists vaccinations for teachers and school staff under ‘additional layers’ of protection. Walensky said on Sunday that the vaccination of teachers is not necessary to reopen schools safely, but that teachers must be put first in order to be vaccinated.
“Our other guidelines on who should be vaccinated – our advisory committee for vaccination practices – suggest that teachers in the 1B group should be prioritized,” Walensky explained. “I am therefore a big supporter of ensuring that ASIP leadership is followed, and that teachers are prioritized.”
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“But from a scientific point of view, we know that it is possible to reopen schools safely without all the teachers being vaccinated,” she added.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.