Schools are preparing to reopen, bringing back millions of K-12 students after a year of disrupted learning.
But with the Delta variant of the coronavirus driving a surge in hospitalizations, in addition to mask bans in some states with relatively low local vaccination rates, the safe return to class for unvaccinated children is becoming increasingly complex.
"It is really unfortunate, both for school districts and for parents as well, because we put school districts in tough positions," Dr. Sara Moran Bode, council chairperson-elect for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health, told Yahoo Finance Live (video above).
Bode added that "this Delta variant is just more infectious, meaning it's easier to pass from child to child or child to parents and adult. And so it's concerning to us that we're having kids back in school without any of those other protections [such as masking] in place."
As of August 5, states that had moved to prevent school districts from mandating masks included Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Utah. None of those states currently boast a fully vaccinated population of more than 50% amid the latest surge of cases.
"Everyone [going to a school] should be wearing a mask — that's just the expectation when they get on the bus, when they get into the classroom," Dr. Bode advised. "We'll go a long way towards not only getting kids back to school, but keeping them so that they're not having another outbreak."
Some school districts — from Dallas to North Central Florida to Phoenix — are defying state bans on masking, imposing mandates for students returning to in-person learning.
“We know things can change quickly,” Mark Lane, superintendent of Decorah Community School District in Iowa, who is recommending masking in schools amid a state ban on masks, told Yahoo Finance. “And so it’s been really key for us to just stay abreast of the best information at the time... [and in] making sure our learning environments are as safe as possible.”
Bode echoed that sentiment, explaining that measures like social distancing and mask mandates worked last year for schools.
"Students went to school," she said. "They wore their mask. We had good compliance with this, and we know that it was effective."
'Protecting our kids until they can get vaccinated.'
As the school year approaches, the U.S. is now averaging more than 100,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases a day for the first time since February, and the CDC is now recommending that everyone in areas with high transmission — regardless of vaccination status — wear masks indoors.