As more and more school districts are considering going back to virtual learning in an attempt to avoid the worst of the omicron variant. The Biden administration has announced a new strategy to increase Covid–19 testing to keep children in the classroom.
The strategy includes a “test to stay” approach that will allow unvaccinated students identified as close contacts of a Covid-positive peer to remain in school if they test negative at least twice during the week after the exposure, instead of having mandatory quarantines.
The news comes as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released two reports today that highlighted school districts that have used the “test to stay” approach successfully.
The Biden administration wants to prevent significant disruptions in hospital and school settings as cases of the omicron variant are now spiking.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, schools are particularly vulnerable to the new variant, with just 18 % of children between the ages of 5 to 11 recorded as receiving at least one shot and 61 % of kids 12 to 17 reportedly receiving at least one dose of the vaccine.
