CDC: Students, Teachers No Longer Need Masks

Vaccinated students and teachers no longer need to wear masks to school, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday, as it continues to relax COVID-19 restrictions.

The CDC also insisted it is not advising schools to require shots for teachers or eligible students. "And it’s not offering guidance on how teachers can know which students are vaccinated or how parents will know which teachers are immunized," The Associated Press reported.

Along with jettisoning mask requirements, the CDC said students' desks no longer need to be spaced three feet apart, provided students are vaccinated. But again, it's unlikely that students or teachers will need to show proof of vaccination.

Or is it?

“It would be a very weird dynamic, socially, to have some kids wearing masks and some not. And tracking that? Teachers shouldn’t need to be keeping track of which kids should have masks on,” John Hopkins University public health professor Elizabeth Stuart told the AP.

Overall though, the new guidelines are encouraging schools to exercise flexibility and start allowing teachers and students to return to normal, removing masks and doing away with social distancing, as positive coronavirus cases continue to decline.