Nation's largest public school district will be all in person this fall

we're winning the war on the virus. Covid 19 cases are the lowest. They've been in nearly a year down in all 50 states. Hospitalizations are down, deaths are down. Health experts say it's proof vaccines work. And now Pfizer's vaccine just became easier to distribute after the FDA announced the thought un deluded vaccine can be stored for a month at normal refrigeration temperatures instead of just five days. And there's new data that shows both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have cut down on infections in nursing homes. There are also lab experiments suggesting both vaccines appear to protect against the variants first seen in India. Both companies have been working on vaccine boosters against a variety of variants but now dr Anthony Fauci says they might not be needed against specific variants. It is likely that you could just keep boosting against the wild type. And he says, we may need boosters in a year or so as the level of protection starts to decline. That assumes full vaccination though, which is only approved down to age 12 though, trials are underway on kids younger than that. So the American Academy of Pediatrics says unvaccinated kids over the age of two still need to wear masks in public places, but the CDC has yet to release specific updated guidelines for schools. So the question to mask or not to mask depends on where you live. I'm Brick Conway reporting.

New York City schools will be all in person this fall with no remote options, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday."We can't have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again," de Blasio said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."The roughly 1 million students who attend traditional public schools will be in their classrooms with some version of the coronavirus protocols that have been in place in the current academic year, including mask wearing and COVID-19 testing, de Blasio said."It's time. It's really time to go full strength now," he said.After closing schools in March 2020, New York City was one of the first large U.S. cities to reopen school buildings in the fall of that year, but the majority of parents chose online-only learning for their children.Children and staff members who have been in physical schoolrooms have been randomly tested for COVID-19, and the city has reported very low rates of virus transmission in the schools.Asked how city education officials could overcome the fears of parents who have thus far chosen online-only learning for their children, de Blasio said that "a lot of information, a lot of communication" would be the answer.He said parents would be invited to visit their children's schools starting in June to get "reacclimated" to the idea of in-person school."Anyone who has a question or concern, come into your child's school. See what's going on, get the answers," the mayor said.The announcement comes a week after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state's public schools would open for in-person learning only in the fall.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has clashed with de Blasio throughout the pandemic over who has the right to set COVID-19 rules in New York City schools, has not announced any statewide policy for the 2021-2022 school year.De Blasio said city schools would be able to accommodate all students under current guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for 3 feet of separation, but he speculated that the standard may be relaxed before the city's public schools open on Sept. 13."I think the CDC'll be changing those rules quite a bit between now and September," de Blasio said. "But right now in New York City, we could have every child three feet apart, we could make that work if we had to."

NEW YORK —

New York City schools will be all in person this fall with no remote options, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

"We can't have a full recovery without full-strength schools, everyone back, sitting in those classrooms, kids learning again," de Blasio said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

The roughly 1 million students who attend traditional public schools will be in their classrooms with some version of the coronavirus protocols that have been in place in the current academic year, including mask wearing and COVID-19 testing, de Blasio said.

"It's time. It's really time to go full strength now," he said.

After closing schools in March 2020, New York City was one of the first large U.S. cities to , but the majority of parents chose online-only learning for their children.

Children and staff members who have been in physical schoolrooms have been randomly tested for COVID-19, and the city has reported very low rates of virus transmission in the schools.

Asked how city education officials could overcome the fears of parents who have thus far chosen online-only learning for their children, de Blasio said that "a lot of information, a lot of communication" would be the answer.

He said parents would be invited to visit their children's schools starting in June to get "reacclimated" to the idea of in-person school.

"Anyone who has a question or concern, come into your child's school. See what's going on, get the answers," the mayor said.

The announcement comes a week after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy that the state's public schools would open for in-person learning only in the fall.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has throughout the pandemic over who has the right to set COVID-19 rules in New York City schools, has not announced any statewide policy for the 2021-2022 school year.

De Blasio said city schools would be able to accommodate all students under current guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for 3 feet of separation, but he speculated that the standard may be relaxed before the city's public schools open on Sept. 13.

"I think the CDC'll be changing those rules quite a bit between now and September," de Blasio said. "But right now in New York City, we could have every child three feet apart, we could make that work if we had to."

Nation's largest public school district will be all in person this fall

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