By Paul Binsfeld, founder and president at Company Nurse LLC

“When do we go back to school?” is a question students, parents, staff, and schools themselves have been asking for the past year. As COVID-19 infections trend down and vaccination distributions ramp up, it appears that the return to in-person learning is coming soon or, in some cases, has already taken place.

Whichever category your school falls in, there are several important considerations for your organization’s return:

When will schools go back to in-person learning?

While some schools have already returned to in-person learning, the remaining schools are in the preparation process.

Experts at the Journal of the American Medical Association bring hope for the re-opening of more schools, stating that “there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.” And with the CDC reducing their social-distancing guidelines for students from six feet to three feet, schools can bring more students back to in-person learning.

It’s important to also consider that each state has its own plans and guidelines for re-opening; New York City schools began this process on March 22nd and Los Angeles schools are working toward re-opening in April.

What are relevant vaccination regulations?

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated, “Vaccinations of teachers is not a prerequisite for safely reopening schools,” as long as schools are following CDC guidelines.

However, as an additional prevention measure, President Joe Biden is directing all states to prioritize vaccinating school and child-care employees in an effort to have schools reopened. Furthermore, recent California legislation is reserving 10% of vaccinations for teachers.

Schools that are coordinating vaccinations for their staff most likely have a process for instantly recording these vaccinations. If schools are not providing vaccination coordination for their staff, as is commonly the case, then staff members would need to report their vaccinations on their own. Make sure you use a simple process that every staff member can access and complete with ease.

With screen by Company Nurse, school staff members can easily report their vaccination manufacturer, date, location, dose number, and more. Using this solution, you can review, organize, and export these reports to help maintain a healthy school environment.

What are safety rules and considerations as schools come back?

When returning to school, consider how to make parents feel confident that they are sending their kids back to a safe environment; they may feel apprehensive and nervous that they are putting their children, themselves, and others at risk. By following the multiple techniques developed by the CDC, you can help your school decrease the risk of COVID-19 exposures for these stakeholders.

The CDC suggests that schools take a multi-layer approach to protect staff, students, and their families. This approach includes several preventative measures including hygiene practices, physical and distance barriers, and symptom screening.

screen by Company Nurse’s COVID-19 symptoms and exposures screenings allow your school to screen students, staff, vendors – anyone who enters your school – to help maintain a healthy environment. This preventative measure can help instill confidence in parents who are sending their children to in-person learning and in staff members who are facilitating this learning.

In addition, the CDC provides resources on safety plans and procedures. With consistent, open communication, you can help everyone adhere to safety rules to help protect your school and everyone who enters.

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With screen by Company Nurse, you can make COVID-19 health screenings and vaccination reporting easy for your organization! Want to learn how screen by Company Nurse can further help your organization? Contact screeninfo@companynurse.com.