The State of COVID in the DMV’s Kids

When school let out for summer vacation the world seemed a little more normal. Masks and social distancing were not required if you were vaccinated. But now children have returned to D.C.’s public and charter schools with many of the same precautions in place. Masks are back and social distancing is recommended—the difference is there is no option for virtual learning. Many families worry about the delta variant, which brings the (extremely low) risk of spreading the virus to vaccinated family members. All this is complicated further by the fact that children under the age of 12 can’t get vaccinated. Pfizer’s director, Scott Gottlieb, says emergency use authorization of the vaccine for those ages 5 to 11 may occur in late fall or early winter. That’s months away.