Schools can be safely reopened without vaccinating teachers, according to the CDC director

Teachers don’t need to be vaccinated Covid-19 Before schools can safely reopen, said the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

“There is growing evidence to suggest schools can reopen safely and that reopening safely does not mean teachers need to be vaccinated,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reporters during a White House press conference about Covid-19.

“Vaccinations from teachers are not a requirement for schools to reopen safely,” she added.

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to put “critical manpower on the front lines”. include the teachers, next in line to get a Covid-19 vaccine after first prioritization of healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities. However, it can take a while for most teachers to get their recordings as US officials work to speed up the pace of vaccinations.

Even so, school systems in the US have been under pressure to reopen after being shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, who infected more than 26.4 million Americans and killed at least 447,077 people in just over a year.

Some parents had to stay home to watch their children instead of going to work. Meanwhile, teachers and other faculties have raised concerns about return to school that could potentially endanger their health.

A study published by the CDC At the end of last month found little evidence of the virus spreading to schools in the U.S. and abroad when precautions were taken, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and ventilation rooms.

The Biden Administration has published a Covid rescue plan This includes allocating $ 170 billion to reopen schools and universities. Some of the money would be used to scale tests. The government has said testing is a “critical” strategy to controlling the spread of the virus, but added testing is still not widely used, and the US is still not effectively using the tests it has.

Walensky previously said schools should be the first to open and the last to close in the pandemic.

Jeff Zients, President Joe Bidens The Covid-19 Tsar said Wednesday that Biden was “very clear” that he wanted schools to “reopen and stay open”.

“That means every school has the equipment and resources to open safely,” he said during the press conference, calling on Congress to “do its part” by approving Biden’s Covid rescue plan. “Not just private schools or schools in affluent areas, but all schools.”