With state after state banning mask mandates and many other districts dropping theirs, the CDC has signaled that it may soon change its masking guidance for schools.
Georgia, Iowa and Texas have prohibited mask mandates in the last few weeks as students as young as 12 became eligible for vaccinations.
And this week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told “Good Morning America” that her agency is reviewing masking policies with an eye toward the 2021-2022 school year, CNN reported.
“We are looking at the evidence now and we will be coming out with that guidance soon,” Walensky said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that children younger than 12 could get a COVID vaccine by Thanksgiving.
School mask tracker: Who is and isn’t loosening the rules
Still, 2021-22 may look similar to this school year for some students and staff. Superintendent Dr. William Hite said masks will be required in the Philadelphia School District in the fall, WPVI-TV reported.
But in the city’s suburbs, the Central Bucks School District has made masks optional for the final week of school, according to WPVI-TV.
In Louisiana, the Lafayette Parish School Board has made masks optional in school buildings, but they remain required on buses, KATC news reported.
And in Georgia, Gwinnett County Public Schools is strongly recommending—but not requiring—masks on school facilities, WSB-TV reported.
