Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

CDC Director reiterates agency's view that teacher vaccinations aren't a 'prerequisite for reopening schools'

CDC Director reiterates agency's view that teacher vaccinations aren't a 'prerequisite for reopening schools'

Walensky said Sunday that schools should allow individuals with a higher risk of serious COVID-19 complications to continue virtual learning.

Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reiterated Sunday that her agency doesn't believe all teachers must receive COVID-19 vaccinations before they return to classrooms for in-person learning.

"I'm a strong advocate of teachers receiving their vaccinations, but we don't believe it's a prerequisite for reopening schools," Walensky said Sunday during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."

The CDC last week issued guidance for school reopenings that likewise said that teacher vaccinations weren't imperative for the reopening of school buildings to students and teachers. Instead, the guidance said that other methods at curbing the spread, like mask-wearing and social distancing, were more important to get kids and teachers back in classrooms safely.

The guidance also notes that the precautions schools should take depends on the state of COVID-19 in their communities. Schools in regions with high levels of virus transmission should require mask-wearing and physical distancing, the CDC said.

Walensky also Sunday said she believed that teachers at higher risk of suffering serious COVID-19 side effects should continue to opt for virtual learning over in-person instruction.


"We have in the guidance clear language that specifies that teachers that are at higher risk...teachers and students that are higher risk, and their families, should have options for virtual activities, virtual learning, virtual teaching," she added.

The question of when and how schools should safely open to students has been the subject of debate since school systems across the US closed their doors to students last spring, sending students to online classrooms to prevent the spread of the virus.

But nearly a year later, schools across the US have taken different approaches, as some have returned to in-person instructions, while others keep students at home with either entirely virtual learning or a hybrid approach. About 60% of schools in the US have reopened some classrooms in some capacity, according to CDC data.

"In-person learning has not been associated with substantial COVID-19 transmission," Walkensky said last week.

Schools in New York City and in Chicago, two of the three largest school districts in the US, last week made steps to reopen some classrooms to students after months-long shutdowns kept most students in virtual learning environments.

Walensky noted Sunday that teachers are among some of the first people the CDC recommends be vaccinated, which includes other frontline workers and people over the age of 75.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×