

“These are substantial upgrades in our vaccines in terms of their ability to prevent infection to prevent transmission,” Jha said.Īs of August 13, the highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 strains made up the vast majority of new Covid-19 cases, according to estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.īoth Pfizer and Moderna have been working on bivalent boosters - vaccines that include both the original formula and a new one that targets the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. Updated boosters that will help the immune system fight Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 will likely be available in early to mid-September, White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr. “I think we have all the ability to do that.” “We should look forward to a school year where every child is in school in-person, full-time for the whole year,” Jha said, stressing the importance of vaccination for children and teachers. Ashish Jha said he anticipates “a very different school year” this year. White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr.

Everyone should wear a high-quality mask indoors if they’re in part of the country where the Covid-19 community level is high.The so-called “test-to-stay” strategy, in which students who were exposed to someone with Covid-19 needed to regularly test negative to stay in the classroom.īut the CDC said other precautions are still important.Staying in the same classroom to avoid mixing with other classrooms - a practice known as cohorting.

Under the new guidelines, the CDC no longer recommends: In August, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eliminated several recommendations for schools while continuing to emphasize other key Covid-19 precautions.
