HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — As students in Alabama are getting ready to head back to school, health experts say to listen to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if eligible.
Remote learning helped reduce infection rates, but also created other issues related to mental health, socialization and learning.
"In-person learning is, we know now, you know, really superior to the remote learning," said University of Alabama Co-Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases David Kimberlin. "Remote learning got us through some hard times but it also introduced a lot of difficulties and challenges for children and adolescents."
Many North Alabama schools made the decision to return to in-person learning last fall. Kimberlin encourages schools and education boards to refer to the CDC regarding any major COVID-19 decisions.
"What the CDC right now is recommending is get your vaccine if you're 12 or over. And if you're unvaccinated, mask, and ideally three feet more than three feet social distance to the extent possible," said Kimberlin.
Kimberlin said social-distancing guidelines have become flexible depending on classroom layouts.
"There's some, some ability to adapt the recommendations coming out of CDC for any given environment in a given classroom or a given school system," said Kimberlin.
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a way to help protect the safety of students and employees in schools, Kimberlin says.
"That's what's going to number one protect that person's health," said Kimberlin. "Perhaps that person's life, but also their, their loved ones, their friends, their neighbors, their schoolmates, the classroom workers, the cafeteria workers at their schools and so forth."
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