US students can get back to school safely. Here are the ways to do it, expert says - CNN

(CNN)Early school year Covid-19 outbreaks have sent many students back into quarantine, but health experts say the academic upheaval can be addressed if more local leaders get on board with masking in classrooms.

The experts have outlined the safest ways to keep schools open and free from outbreaks, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said Monday.

If students are going to be in a room together before they can all be vaccinated, it is crucial that there is proper testing, ventilation and masking -- a measure that has become surprisingly contentious, she said.

"Why wouldn't we want every single tool at our disposal to help to keep our children safe at this point?" Wen told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday.

Yet Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have surged in recent weeks, particularly among unvaccinated people in the South. And although health experts have stressed that masking is a way to control the spread, some governors have sought to ban mask mandates in schools.

Currently, vaccines are only authorized for people 12-years-old and older, meaning younger children do not have access to the full protection of vaccines. That is where masking becomes crucial.

"It shouldn't be for months. It shouldn't be forever, but right now when people are coming back in, masking is a reasonable public health step," former Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said Monday. "I support it and encourage parents to encourage their children to do it."

"Only 23 states and New York City actually report the number of children in hospitals," Giroir told CNN's Chris Cuomo. That means state-reported numbers are unknown in places like, Texas and Florida, where children's hospitals are seeing a rise in cases, he added.

"Talking about flying blind, relative to children -- we need better data, and that's got to be the basis for action," he added.

And because testing has gone down, the US may not be fully informed on the extent of the infection among the entire population, he said. Giroir estimated that the US could soon reach a true number of around 500,000 cases per day.

"That means 50 to 100 thousand Americans will get long Covid -- meaning for months they'll be in pain, they'll be fatigued, they'll have brain fog, because their memory centers in their brain shrink. We know that," Giroir said.

The percentage of the eligible US population to have started their vaccinations against the virus has reached 70%, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now with the more transmissible Delta variant spreading -- and concerns growing over possibly waning immune protection -- top officials in the Biden administration are coming to an agreement that most Americans should get a booster shot eight months after being fully vaccinated, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Third-grade teacher Candace Ropp, left, welcomes students back for the first day of class at Stanford Elementary School in Garden Grove, California, on August 16, 2021.

Hospitals feeling the weight of the increase

Forty states are seeing a surge in the average number of new cases compared to the week before, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And the impact can be seen in strained healthcare systems.

Cases in Mississippi have continued to rise, with the latest data from the state department of health showing 7,839 new cases and 52 new deaths in the three days to August 15.

In response to the record number of Covid-19 hospitalizations, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said a second field hospital is being constructed in one of its parking garages.

The field hospital will have critical care capacity and care for up to 32 patients at a time, the hospital said in a statement.

In Texas, following a review of the rise in fatalities, the Department of State Health Services submitted a request for five mortuary trailers as "a normal part of preparedness to have these available to support local jurisdictions in case they need them," according to DSHS Press Officer Douglas Loveday.

Texas is one of the states at odds over mask mandates. Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning school districts from requiring masks, which has caused backlash from educators and local leaders.

"The governor is looking at polls, he's no longer even talking to his own medical experts," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told CNN's Erin Burnett. "He's looking at polls of what Republican primary voters want to hear and working from there."

Texas along with Florida, another state embroiled in mask mandate controversy, lead the nation in pediatric hospitalizations.

The latest HHS data published Monday shows that 239 children in Texas are currently hospitalized with Covid-19. Texas has surpassed Florida, which has 170 children with coronavirus in hospital care.

How quickly does immunity wane?

Meanwhile, Pfizer and BioNTech said Monday they have submitted initial data to the US Food and Drug Administration to support the use of a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The dose elicited a significantly higher antibody response against the initial strain of coronavirus and the Delta and Beta variants, compared to what was seen among people who got two doses, they said. The booster dose seemed to be equally protective against the Delta and Beta variants as against the original coronavirus.

The data is good news, Wen said, but not altogether surprising.

"That's actually, though, not answering the key question we have remaining right now," Wen said. "The key question is, how quickly does immunity wane after the first two doses?"

As of now, the Biden administration's plan, which is still being developed, would involve administering third shots beginning in mid- to late September, one source told CNN, pending authorization from the FDA.

Given that health care workers and nursing home patients were first to receive their shots, the administration currently expects they'll be first to receive boosters as well.

Last week, the FDA authorized third doses for some people who are immunocompromised and the CDC almost immediately recommended giving those doses.

CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas, Virginia Langmaid, Kaitlan Collins, Adrienne Broaddus, Deanna Hackney, Raja Razek and Rosa Flores contributed to this report.

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