Conceivable that unvaccinated children could go to camp or playgrounds this summer, Fauci says
CNNCNN — Children may not need to be vaccinated for Covid-19 for parents to send them to camps or playgrounds this summer, the nation’s top infectious disease expert told CBS News on Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has previously said that elementary school-aged kids won’t likely be vaccinated until the first quarter of 2022, as vaccine developers continued to study their effects in children. But asked by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan whether parents can send their kids to summer camp without vaccines, Fauci said, “It is conceivable that that will be possible.” Fauci stressed it was important for Covid-19 to continue declining and for infections to not plateau at a high level. “If we get into the summer and you have a considerable percentage of the population vaccinated, and the level in the community gets below that plateau that’s worrying me and my colleagues in public health,” he said, “it is conceivable that you would have a good degree of flexibility during the summer, even with the children with things like camps.” “We don’t know that for sure,” he cautioned, “but I think that’s an aspirational goal that we should go for.” Fully vaccinated people can gather together indoors without masks or social distancing, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.