May 5, 2021 - Health

CDC chief: Vaccinated adolescents at camps can remove masks if outside

Rebecca Falconer

Director Rochelle Walensky testifies at a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on April 15, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. — CDC director Rochelle Walensky during a House hearing on Capitol Hill in April. Photo: Amr Alfiky-Pool/Getty Images

Adolescents vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to remove face masks if they're outside at summer camps, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.

Why it matters: Critics had called CDC guidance, issued last month, stating that everyone at summer camps should be masked unless eating, drinking or swimming "unfairly draconian."

Driving the news: With the Food and Drug Administration preparing to authorize the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, Walensky clarified the policy at a news conference Wednesday.

What she's saying: "If we have authorization for 12- to 15-year-olds and they can get vaccinated before going to camp, that's what I would advocate for so that they can take their masks off outdoors," Walensky said.

"What we're really trying to avoid in this camp guidance is what we saw in outbreaks in camps last summer."

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CDC chief: Vaccinated adolescents at camps can remove masks if outside

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