Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said that based on the current pace of vaccination against the New Guinea virus and the continued growth of the immunized population, all students will be able to return to school in September and will no longer need to be taught remotely from home.
In a discussion with Jennifer Ashton, chief medical correspondent for ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Wolenski said, “We continue to provide vaccines and virus testing to our seniors. We continue to offer vaccines and testing to older adults, and I really hope to see the number of confirmed cases continue to decline so that we can have schools fully open and children back in classrooms by September 2021.”
Although children are not currently eligible for the vaccine, Walensky predicts that it will be open by mid-May; she said that teachers and parents will be vaccinated whether students are vaccinated or not, and that there will be enough virus testing reagents to ensure that campuses can function properly, so all students should be able to return to school.
According to recently released trial data from Pfizer, the vaccine developer, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 are equally effective and safe after receiving the vaccine; while the safety of Moderna vaccine for adolescents is still in the research stage, Wolenski predicts that both vaccines will be available to adolescents by summer.
However, Varensky also admitted that the authorization to vaccinate children under 12 years of age could not be passed before the end of the year.
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