Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fauci, Prominent Teachers Union Chief Say Schools Should Fully Reopen In Fall
The Hill: Fauci Says School Should Be Open 'Full Blast' Five Days A Week In The Fall
Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said Thursday that schools in the fall should be open “full blast” five days a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 resume life without masks or other restrictions. When asked by host Jake Tapper on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” if he agreed with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and the president of the American Federation of Teachers that schools in the fall should be 100 percent open and in-person five days a week, Fauci said he did. (Schnell, 5/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Teachers Union Head Calls For Schools To Be Open Full Time This Fall
The president of one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions said school should reopen five days a week this fall, pointing to improving conditions and the academic, emotional and social effects that more than a year of disrupted school have had on students. “There is no doubt: Schools must be open, in person, five days a week, with the space and facilities to do so,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a speech streamed online. “Given current circumstances,” she added, “nothing should stand in the way of fully reopening our public schools this fall and keeping them open.” (Calfas, 5/13)
The New York Times: President Of Key Teachers’ Union Shares Plea: ‘Schools Must Be Open’ In Fall
But her remarks came on the same day that federal health officials advised that fully vaccinated individuals could stop masking and distancing in most indoor and outdoor settings. The timing seemed to underscore just how cautious schools have been and the pressure they will be under to reopen. It is not entirely clear how the guidance will apply to schools, since it is not known when vaccines will be approved for students under 12 and what percentage of older students will be vaccinated when schools open in the fall. (Goldstein, 5/13)
In updates from Washington state —
Seattle Times: All Washington Districts Will Open Schools This Fall, State Says
Washington schools are expected to fully open to in-person learning in the fall, the state’s top education official, Chris Reykdal, announced Thursday afternoon. The move comes as part of a sweeping plan by government officials on Thursday to soon lift several COVID-19 restrictions in Washington and nationwide. Returning to school buildings full time would restore some sense of normalcy for Washington’s 1.1 million schoolchildren after more than a year away from classrooms during the pandemic. (Furfaro, 5/13)
