White House to leave decision to reopen schools in US to CDC

Faced with criticism that President Joe Biden failed to take aggressive enough action to reopen schools, the White House said Thursday it was aiming for a full return to the classroom.But he will leave the decision of how to achieve that goal during the pandemic to expert scientists.

The White House came under heavy criticism this week for saying schools would be considered open if they offered face-to-face classes at least once a week.. Asked about it on Thursday, press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden expects students to return to classrooms five days a week as soon as it is safe.

However, Psaki has not set specific dates in this regard, noting that the government will act in accordance with new school guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plan to present on Friday.

“I can assure all parents who listen that their goal, their commitment, is to have schools open five days a week.Psaki said during a report to the press. “That’s what they want to achieve, and we’re going to be guided by the science and the recommendations they give us.”

The task of helping to reopen schools will fall on the CDC, Psaki said, and not on Biden’s candidate for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, whose appointment was approved by the Board of Health on Thursday. , education. , Labor and Senate pensions.

Panel voted 17-5 in favor of Cardona, and full Senate set to ratify his nomination. He got the endorsement of the committee’s main Republican, Richard Burr, who said Cardona had “the experience, credentials and character” to be secretary.

“He stressed the need for students to go back to school, and it is now a bipartisan mission,” Burr said.

One of Joe Biden’s top priorities during his first 100 days in office is reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Growing data suggests schools can reopen safely and that reopening safely does not suggest teachers should be vaccinatedCDC director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House press conference on February 3.

“Vaccination of teachers is not a precondition for the safe reopening of schools,” he added.

The Chief Epidemiologist of the United States Government, Anthony Fauci, expressed his agreement with the program to reopen schools presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As he stated, the CDC’s claim “is based on data.”

“I would support the CDC’s recommendations because they are really data driven. We have to try to get the kids back to school and that is President Joe Biden’s goal “, said Fauci, in dialogue with the channel MSNBC.

The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases further explained that “A child is less likely to be infected in a school environment than in the community”.

In early February, the CDC released a report approving the reopening of schools as soon as possible if social distancing measures and mandatory mask use were properly enforced. However, the researchers clarified that some indoor sports have indeed led to infections and recommended that these be reduced as much as possible so that schools can operate safely.

“The preponderance of available evidence from the fall semester was reassuring (…) There was little evidence that schools significantly contribute to increased community transmission”Three CDC researchers wrote in an opinion piece published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

With AP information

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