On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised earlier guidance on facemask use and summer camp vacations, easing a few restrictions, according to NPR.
According to the updated guidance, everyone who has been fully vaccinated can go camping, sing, play sports, and weave baskets without wearing a mask, except where required by local laws.
Commander Erin Sauber-Schatz, Ph.D., MPH, said, “In a camp setting where everybody is fully vaccinated, there’s no need for masking, there’s no need for distancing. There’s no need for screening, testing.”
She is the team leader of the Transportation Safety Team in the Division of Injury Prevention (DIP) at CDC’s Injury Center.
“There is the potential, towards mid- to late-summer, [for campers] to have a pre-pandemic camp experience when everyone is fully vaccinated if that is offered,” Sauber-Schatz added.
She also explained that the CDC’s ease in guidance was prompted by significant improvements in vaccine policies and pandemic trends.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 12 to 15.
Sauber-Schatz said, “We’re also continuing to see cases, hospitalizations and deaths fall so this is translating to lower levels of community transmission, which is also making the camp experience safer.”
So far, over 2.5 million adolescents aged 12 to 15 have been vaccinated, according to CDC.
At camps, vaccinated people do not need to wear masks but those who are unvaccinated are strongly encouraged to wear masks indoors, outdoors, as well as in crowded places, according to updated guidance.
Sauber-Schatz said, “Maybe you have a bunch of kids together and you’re shouting out camp cheers or singing songs. We know that COVID-19 has spread in scenarios where the respiratory droplets can go further, which is anytime you raise your voice. So in those higher-risk situations, even outdoors, it makes sense to wear a mask.”
The CDC has also recommended people with weak immune systems to wear a mask and maintain social distance.
The agency said the nearly 6 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 who have been vaccinated so far represent just 23% of that age group. Some smaller camps may be able to require full vaccination for counselors and campers, but the more typical camp experience will include a mix of unvaccinated and vaccinated people, according to NPR. But given how complicated it could be to run a mixed camp, some camps may choose simply to go with a policy that requires masks for everyone.
