Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be approved for children. | File photo
Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be approved for children. | File photo
Fulton County Schools will drop their mask mandate after the next vaccine rollout.
Face masks will become optional 30 days after vaccine eligibility expands to include children ages 5 to 11, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
‘’Most parents likely will choose to discuss with their pediatrician and will prefer to have their small kids get vaccinated there. 30 days is too tight a window (also … two weeks after second dose is 35 days … but I realize science isn't persuasive),’’ state Rep. Rebecca Mitchell (D-Snellville said in an Oct. 22 Twitter post.
Vaccines won’t be required, but they’ll provide safety to students. Beginning Nov. 1, Fulton County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney will waive the mandate at schools where the ratio of positive COVID-19 cases is less than 1% of student enrollment. This is a change from previous metrics, which used the infection rate in the city as the determining factor, according to a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Fulton County recently won a court case defending against a legal challenge to its mask mandate, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be approved for children in the 5 to 11 age range in the near future. School level case numbers are anticipated to be published on Friday.
School board members were split on the merits of the decision, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and the CDC continues to recommend universal masking in schools.
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