Unvaccinated kids can test to stay in class safely, says CDC

Unvaccinated kids who come in contact with someone with Covid-19 can remain in classrooms, if they test negative and meet other criteria, without fueling a school outbreak, U.S. public-health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published studies showing that so-called “test-to-stay” strategies, relying on at least two tests a week, didn’t lead to more student cases than schools that sent exposed kids home outright.

The strategy “allows unvaccinated children to stay in school, even if they have been exposed to the virus, so that they don’t have to miss school while they’re quarantining at home,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday in a press briefing. She called it a “promising and now proven practice.”