CDC Lifts Mask Mandate for Fully Vaccinated Students, Teachers: How Will That Work?

• Federal officials have told schools that students and employees who are fully vaccinated don’t need to wear masks when in-person classes resume.
• They add that unvaccinated people should still wear masks while in indoors.
• Experts note that school administrators will need to decide how to deal with a school population where some people are vaccinated and others aren’t.

According to new federal guidelines, students and school employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear masks when classes return to in-person learning this fall.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued updated guidance that also states that masks should still be necessary in schools for anyone who isn’t vaccinated.

“Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained,” the guidelines state.

The CDC says that in general, masks don’t need to be worn outdoors at school.

It also advises that schools implement at least 3 feet of physical distancing between students in classrooms in combination with indoor mask wearing for those who aren’t fully vaccinated.

The guidance states children shouldn’t be excluded from in-person learning when such physical distancing isn’t possible. But in such instances, other prevention strategies should be used.

“When it is not possible to maintain a physical distance of at least 3 feet, such as when schools cannot fully re-open while maintaining these distances, it is especially important to layer multiple other prevention strategies, such as indoor masking,” the CDC states.

Dr. Dean Blumberg, head of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital in California, says that the masking guidelines will be beneficial in a crowded classroom environment.

“The idea for the masking is if social distancing can’t be done indoors that’s when the mask comes into play and prevents further transmission of infection,” he told Healthline.

“Since children are relatively crowded in schools, of course the ultimate goal is to make sure there’s not widespread transmission events that are occurring in school that could result in shutting down of in-person learning.”

Blumberg added, “If they’re not able to social distance, then certainly children who are unvaccinated should be masking, that’s the safest thing for them to prevent transmission to them, whereas the vaccinated people are relatively safe.”

The CDC says that school administrators need to make decisions about the best COVID-19 prevention strategies for their school, noting that schools may have a mixed population of people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated.