The White House said on January 6 the decision to enact vaccine mandates for schools is up to local school districts.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned on January 5 against complacency about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, saying the sheer number of cases could strain hospitals despite signs of lower severity.
Thousands of U.S. schools delayed the scheduled return to classrooms following the holiday break or switched to remote learning as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus pushed COVID-19 cases to record levels.
New York City will stop quarantining entire classrooms exposed to the coronavirus and will instead prioritize a ramped-up testing program so that asymptomatic students testing negative for Covid-19 can remain in school, officials said on December 28.
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted on Sept. 17 to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for broader approval.
President Joe Biden took aim on Sept. 9 at vaccine resistance in America, announcing policies requiring most federal employees to get Covid-19 vaccinations and pushing large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly.
In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of the Florida’s Lake County school board on Sept. 2 where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to Covid.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Aug. 29 he supports Covid-19 vaccine mandates for children attending schools as the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to fuel a surge in cases in the nation.
Half of children aged 12 to 17 have received at least their first vaccination dose against Covid-19, and that age group has the fastest growth rate in vaccinations, the White House said on Aug. 27.
U.S. companies are scrambling to boost production of coronavirus tests increasingly in short supply as Covid-19 cases soar and schools and employers revive surveillance programs that will require tens of millions of tests, according to industry executives and state health officials.
