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 The new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention settles a question that has been top of mind for the
parents of tens of millions of children who attend camp each summer
in the United States.
"We think the possibility of having a camp setting where everyone is
fully vaccinated will be a reality by mid- to late-summer," said
Commander Erin Sauber-Schatz, a team lead at the CDC, in an
interview with Reuters.
The CDC also updated guidance for unvaccinated camp attendees on
wearing masks outdoors. Camps should no longer require masking
outdoors in most circumstances for vaccinated or unvaccinated
children, according to the new guidance.
The CDC previously required camp programs to mandate use of masks
and physical distancing even for fully vaccinated teachers, staff
and children. The agency has been under sharp criticism recently for
being overly cautious in its masking guidelines.
The CDC still recommends that summer camps where everyone is not
fully vaccinated require masks indoors and in crowded outdoor
spaces. It also recommends that they employ other standard COVID-19
prevention strategies, including physical distancing, testing, and
limiting attendees contact to a fixed cohort of other campers.
The more stringent recommendations apply to all summer camps that
host children under 12 years old. U.S. regulators have not yet
authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for that younger age group.
The CDC does not offer specific guidance for how camps should
determine which attendees are fully vaccinated, Sauber-Schatz said.
The agency expects that camps will work with state and local public
health officials to develop those procedures, she added.
Sauber-Schatz said breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated camp
participants are highly unlikely.
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 "Based on the evidence of the
effectiveness of the vaccine, we are very
comfortable with the reccomendations we have
made," she said.
The agency's latest guideline revision comes
after the recent authorization and rollout of
Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccine for 12-15 year olds.
The vaccine was authorized for the younger age
group earlier in May and the country has since
vaccinated nearly 59% of Americans over the age
of 12, according to latest data from the CDC.
Earlier this month, it said fully vaccinated
people do not need to wear masks outdoors and
can avoid wearing them indoors in most places
but stuck to more conservative guidelines for
schools as children below 12 will not get their
shots yet.
The agency previously recommended all children
and staff should wear makers at all times except
when eating, drinking or swimming.
Speaking on the CDC's annual budget before a
House subcommittee, Director Rochelle Walensky
said changing guidance quickly as more
information becomes available has been a
challenge.
"This is complex. And as we change things,
things that we knew a year ago are different now
because we have much more information and they
continue to evolve," she said.
She added that it is better for children to be
outside than inside. "My own kids were home from
camp last summer, and I want camps to be open
this summer."
(Reporting by David Shepherdson in Washington
and Carl O'Donnell in New York; additional
reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru;
Editing by Alistair Bell)
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