What’s in Ohio’s back-to-school guidance? Here’s what you need to know

COLUMBUS — In the face of the quickly spreading delta variant, unvaccinated adults and vaccine ineligible children remain at risk when they head back to school next month.

The Ohio Department of Health today released updated guidance for mitigating COVID-19 spread this upcoming school year.

The guidance recommends:

• Eligible staff and students get vaccinated;
• Unvaccinated people wear masks;
• Schools implement additional health measures, like ventilation and distancing.

"While there are no mandates associated with this guidance, we believe that the recommendations we are issuing are essential to the health of Ohio's youth and the success of the coming school year," ODH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said.

To increase access to COVID-19 shots, ODH suggests districts partner with local health departments and vaccine providers to host pop-up vaccine clinics and offer vaccinations for eligible students during pre-sport summer physical exams.

The guidance also urges districts to consider offering flexible, supportive sick leave for employees to get the shot or who experience side effects as a result.

ODH "strongly recommends" unvaccinated people wear masks indoors and in crowded spaces. Masking and distancing are widely credited with limiting COVID-19 spread in schools during the 2020-21 school year.

In accordance with CDC guidelines, students are required to wear masks on public transportation, including school buses, regardless of vaccination status.

Schools should continue to practice contact tracing and proper quarantine — fully vaccinated students are not required to quarantine after an exposure, and unvaccinated students do not have to quarantine after an exposure if both students were wearing masks consistently and correctly.

Finally, ODH urges districts to implement health measures like ventilation, social distancing, disinfecting practices and hand hygiene.

To help fund air quality improvements, Ohio schools can access the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund.

This story was originally published July 27, 2021 at 12:41 PM with the headline "What’s in Ohio’s back-to-school guidance? Here’s what you need to know."