Murthy: Some Schools Might Need 'Temporary Emergency' Closures Due to Staffing, But We Should Make Them Short

On Monday’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that while the goal is to ensure that schools stay open, “some schools may have to make temporary emergency decisions based on their staffing in particular. But our goal should be to make sure that these disruptions are short-lived and we can get our kids back to school safely.”

Murthy said, [relevant remarks begin around 3:50] “Look, our collective goal as a society is to make sure that schools stay open safely. We know how essential that is for kids’ development. And the good news is that we know what safety measures work to reduce risk. Getting our kids vaccinated helps, masks and ventilation, surveillance, testing helps. Now, in the next few weeks, there will be — it will be challenging for some schools, given the rise in cases. We know some schools may have to make temporary emergency decisions based on their staffing in particular. But our goal should be to make sure that these disruptions are short-lived and we can get our kids back to school safely. Our best chance of doing that is to implement the mitigation measures that we know have worked and to get our kids vaccinated.”

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