Friday’s announcement relaxes recommendations for social distance to 3 feet from 6 feet and relies heavily on schools using other measures, including universal masking and contact tracking, said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
“At first glance, moving to a distance of three feet for students in classrooms will be particularly challenging for large urban school districts and those who have not yet had access to the resources needed to fully implement the COVID-19 mitigation measures that the CDC says they are essential for safe personal instruction, regardless of the distance between students in the classroom, “she said.
Many employees and parents are eager to send students back to school after a year of learning affected by a global pandemic. And while the increase in vaccinations has left people optimistic that a return to a sense of normality is approaching, health experts fear that the variants may cause another increase.
And students under the age of 16 are unlikely to be vaccinated for a few more months.
“We are very close to being able to ensure that all of our schools are much safer,” said Pringle. “But, as public health officials rightly warned, in the face of new variants and a race to make vaccines widely available, this is not the time to let your guard down.”
AFT said on Friday that it will “reserve a judgment” on the change in guidelines until more information is available, but also expressed concern that the motivation may have been to accommodate schools with no space for two meters rather than space. scientifically based security.
Low transmission in schools
The CDC said that experts were persuaded to reduce the gap due to low levels of transmission in schools in three states.
The center published reports from Utah, Missouri and Florida on Friday that showed that if students wore masks and followed other measures to reduce transmission, the 6 feet away did not matter so much.
In Florida, 60% of Covid-19 cases among students were unrelated to school, reported a team of researchers from the CDC and the Florida Department of Health. Sporting and social events were more dangerous than classrooms, they said.
In Utah, a study found that 86% of students wore masks in elementary school classrooms and very few transmitted the virus to others.
“Despite the high incidence in the community and the inability to space students’ classroom seats 6 feet or more away, this investigation found low transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and no school-related outbreaks in 20 primary schools in the world. Salt Lake County with high use and implementation of a multi-strategy student mask to limit transmission, “wrote the researchers.
And in Missouri, where only 27% of schools were able to place desks 2 meters away, a two-week investigation found that only two people infected someone at school, and in both cases, it was just another person.
Barriers to normal
Meanwhile, experts say that two barriers prevent collective immunity from being achieved – the vaccine’s variants and hesitation.
“We have a very narrow window of opportunity to make clear what the benefits of vaccines are. We know that these vaccines are really effective in preventing serious diseases. They also substantially reduce the risk in each of these different types of environments, whether going to the restaurant or gym, or see family and friends. “
More than 23% of the US population – more than 77.2 million people – received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among Americans aged 65 and over, more than 67% of the population received at least one dose.
At least 118 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to CDC data, and 100 million of them were reported during President Joe Biden’s term.
New, more deadly and contagious variant, says Fauci
Rapid vaccination is more important than ever because variant B.1.1.7, first discovered in the UK, is projected to become the dominant variant in late March or early April, according to the CDC.
Research at the beginning of the year suggests that vaccination may still provide protection against new variants.
Measures such as wearing a mask and social detachment are also crucial, said Dr. Anthony Fauci during a meeting at the White House, as the variant is more contagious and probably more deadly.
Variant B.1.1.7 has already been identified in 50 U.S. jurisdictions and “it is now probably responsible for about 20 to 30% of infections in this country. And that number is growing,” said Fauci.
The variant is about 50% more transmissible than the original virus, according to UK documentation, Fauci said.
Because of the complications provided by the variants, experts say mass inoculation is necessary.
CNN’s Travis Caldwell, DJ Judd, Jen Christensen, Maggie Fox, Lauren Mascarenhas and Nick Neville contributed to this report.