Students may still need to wear masks in school after COVID-19 vaccine is approved for children ages 5-11, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky.
In a White House briefing Wednesday, Walensky said schools should keep mask mandates, even if children are vaccinated.
“After we have authorization from (the Food and Drug Administration) and recommendations from the CDC, we will be working to scale up pediatric vaccination,” Walensky stated. “As we head into these winter months, we know we cannot be complacent,” she added.
She did not mention if and when children would no longer be required to wear masks in school.
The Biden Administration announced Wednesday that they plan to vaccinate 28 million children aged 5 to 11 when it is approved. Federal regulators are supposed to meet to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of giving low-dose shots to children in that age group.
Walensky also reported “from previous data that schools that have had masks in place were three-and-a-half times less likely to have school outbreaks requiring school closure”. She said the CDC will “continue to recommend masks in all schools for all people in those schools”.
