A year on, since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic state due to the novel Coronavirus, life is expected to return to normalcy slowly as vaccines roll out across the US.
Federal Officials Move With Caution To Reopen Schools Across The US
Teachers and other school staff have expressed their willingness to return back to schools to impart in-person teaching to students. However, as federal officials look to contain further spikes in the average daily cases, in-person learning still looks like a distant home for educators.
Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association, told CNN on Friday that as the teachers have been trained that way, they would normally want to go back to their previous ways of teaching. She also added that the schools need to be a safe place for teachers, students, parents, and staff before in-person learning can make a comeback.
Teachers and other school staff are eligible to receive vaccinations in all 50 states in the US, as federal authorities ramp up vaccination efforts in the country in the wake of newer variants of the virus, sparking fears of another surge in daily new infections.
Miguel Cardona, the Secretary of Education, said that reopening schools throughout the country was his top priority but conceded that he still cannot ascertain when that is going to happen.
Cardona added that this pandemic is an unprecedented situation without any protocol or guidance to operate in the period.
He added that the schools have to stick by the mitigation strategies to keep their schools safe.
President Joe Biden had declared that all adults in America would be eligible to receive the vaccination shots, with 100 million Covid-19 doses already being distributed across the nation.
By the end of May, it is expected that there would be an additional 100 million doses available of Johnson & Johnson along with 200 million more doses of Pfizer and Moderna.
The Biden administration, along with projections made by the three pharmaceutical giants, have estimated that the US would have enough supplies to vaccinate 300 million people by the end of May fully.
The states reflected positivity on the announcement. Maine, the northeasternmost state in the US, announced their solidarity with the president’s administration and healthcare providers to get people vaccinated, as announced by Governor Janet Mills.
State officials in Michigan also announced that people over 16 would soon be able to get their vaccinations from April 5.
All across the nation, officials are hoping to ramp up vaccination efforts, hoping that such treatments could mitigate the impacts of the virus.
The officials are especially optimistic about monoclonal antibodies, as Dr. Anthony Fauci said that many treatments showed ‘dramatic results’ to help fight the disease.
The Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was speaking at the Covid-19 Response Team briefing at the White House said that the monoclonal antibody treatment is amongst the only ones authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat non-hospitalized Covid-19 patients.
Fauci stated that there was plenty of information regarding monoclonal antibodies used in the prevention and treatment of Covid-19. He ascertained that the treatments are working for now, though they are less effective against the variants of the virus.
The Director also added that there are effects of the treatments on the pandemic’s physical and mental health and its long-term impacts.
As the inoculation efforts are steaming up in the country, life is getting back to normalcy slowly but surely. Some states also have the go-ahead to opening restaurants, gyms, and salons at 50% capacity for in-house dining by the end of this month.