Illinois will require all eligible students and school employees to be vaccinated and re-instituted an indoor mask mandate under an order announced by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 26.
New York City will require public school teachers and staff to get vaccinated against Covid-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Aug. 23, part of a push to get more residents inoculated and slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
The cities of San Francisco and New Orleans on Aug. 12 ordered patrons to show proof of Covid-19 vaccinations to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues, joining New York in a severe step designed to contain the fast-spreading Delta variant.
California on Aug. 11 became the first U.S. state to require that its teachers and other school staff be vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19, a move Governor Gavin Newsom called “a responsible step” to ensure the safety of children.
Covid-19 vaccinations should be required for U.S. teachers to protect students who are too young to be inoculated, the head of the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union said on Aug. 8, shifting course to back mandated shots as more children fall ill.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the Centers for Disease Control is likely to advise that kids who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 should wear masks when they return from summer holidays to school in the fall.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 9 updated its guidance to help reopen schools in the fall, including recommending masking indoors for everyone who is not fully vaccinated and three feet of distance within classrooms.
According to Jon Bigelow, Executive Director of the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, the beginning of the Biden administration has had a largely positive impact on the biopharma industry, notably marked by an effort to “stick to the science”; a fairly efficient roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines that allows reopening of schools and many aspects of normal daily life; and expansion of Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage. But behind the scenes, pressure continues to build surrounding high prescription drug costs and changes in tax policy.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on May 18 ordered all government entities in the state, including school districts, to lift mask mandates by week’s end, though existing guidelines for face-coverings in schools may remain in effect through June 4.
Schools in the United States should continue to use masks for the 2020-2021 academic year as all students will not be fully vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on May 15.
