The Federal Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized both Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines for children as young as 6 months old — meaning COVID shots for the last age group of Americans without access may be just days away.

The vaccines now await sign-off from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the final step before children under 5 can begin rolling up their sleeves. The White House expects providers to begin administering doses on Tuesday, immediately after the federal Juneteenth holiday.

On Wednesday, an FDA panel of experts — made up of pediatricians, infectious disease experts and vaccine researchers — voted 21-0 in favor of both vaccine options.

“There are so many parents who are absolutely desperate to get this vaccine, and I think we owe it to them to give them the choice,” said committee member Jay Portnoy, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

Philip Chan, medical director for the Rhode Island Department of Health, called the panel’s unanimous vote a “major milestone in COVID prevention.” His state is ready to distribute the shots as soon as they receive the all clear, he said.

“We’ve pre-ordered thousands of [doses], and we expect them to ship within 24 or 48 hours after the FDA issues the EUA” (emergency use authorization), he told ����Ӱ�� Wednesday. With EUA now granted, the COVID shots should soon be on their way.

Parents who are eager to finally vaccinate their young children took advantage of the public comment period at the FDA’s Wednesday committee meeting to urge advisors to recommend authorization. Michael Baker, the father of a 1 and a 3 year old, described the tough choices he has had to make to protect his children from the virus. He shared a slide of all the events they have missed out on during the pandemic, including weddings, holidays and funerals.

“All I am asking is now that … I have the choice to vaccinate my children, [that] I have the choice to do it in the most timely fashion possible,” he said to the committee.

Parents like Baker awaiting vaccines for their little ones have been on a months-long rollercoaster that has repeatedly raised their hopes only to later send them crashing down. In late February, Pfizer-BioNTech first submitted a request asking the FDA to grant emergency authorization for a two-dose regimen of their vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old, only to then withdraw the application just five days later. Then in April, when Moderna was on the verge of submitting its EUA application for the age group, the FDA postponed the committee review process until Pfizer’s shots were also ready.

Just 29% of children 5 to 11 years old and 59% of youth 12 to 17 years old have so far received two vaccine doses, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

However, Katelyn Jetelina, creator of Your Local Epidemiologist, wrote in her hyper-popular newsletter that parents of young kids should still take COVID seriously and vaccinate their children.

“The rate of severe disease is lower compared to adults, but this is an inherently flawed comparison because kids don’t die as often as adults. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 442 children aged 0-4 years old have died from COVID-19. If we compare to other vaccine preventable diseases among children, deaths due to COVID19 are highest. We cannot become numb to these deaths,” she explained.

COVID cases across the U.S. are finally leveling off after a springtime surge fueled by an Omicron subvariant spurred bumps in pediatric infections and hospitalizations through the final weeks of the school year.

You can view the FDA’s and watch the full recording of its June 15 vaccine advisory committee’s virtual meeting:

In a press conference Thursday, White House COVID Response Coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the possible timeline for when young children, the last group in the U.S. still ineligible for immunizations, could begin rolling up their sleeves.

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Here are the key dates:

—June 1, Pfizer-BioNTech formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorization to their doses for kids under 5. Moderna submitted its application in late April for kids 6 months to 6 years old.

—June 3, states became able to order vaccine doses for kids under 5. A total of 10 million are currently available, the White House said.

—June 14 & 15, the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee is scheduled to meet to review the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech doses. Should the committee vote in favor of authorization, the White House expects the FDA to greenlight the vaccines in the days immediately after the meeting.

—June 18-20, if the FDA has authorized shots, doses will begin to arrive at doctors’ offices. The White House can begin sending vaccine shipments immediately following FDA authorization.

—June 21, after the long holiday weekend, if the previous steps proceed without setbacks, kids under 5 may begin receiving vaccine doses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also recommend the shots, but the agency typically follows the guidance of the FDA.

The White House has asked states to first provide vaccines to sites that can handle large volumes of supply, such as children’s hospitals. But as soon as Atlanta-based pediatrician Jennifer Shu receives the green light from local officials, she will order doses for her office.

“Parents have been asking me about vaccine availability for kids under 5 for several months. I plan to order them as soon as I get the notice from our health department,” she wrote in a message to ����Ӱ��.

The White House also stressed that providers should offer vaccinations outside traditional working hours.

“We want to make this as easy as possible for working parents and their families,” said Jha.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a question from ����Ӱ�� asking how many doses have been ordered so far and by which states.

With COVID case counts once again high amid a second Omicron surge, the updated vaccine timeline for young kids appeared as a light at the end of the tunnel to many pandemic-weary parents.

“I teared up in the car today thinking about being able to get my kid vaccinated,” Marisol LeBrón, professor at UC Santa Cruz, wrote on Twitter.

Parents of young children awaiting vaccines for little ones have been on a months-long roller coaster that has repeatedly raised their hopes only to later send them crashing down. In late February, Pfizer-BioNTech first submitted a request asking the FDA to grant emergency authorization for a two-dose regimen of their vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old, only to then withdraw the application just five days later.

Then in April, when Moderna was on the verge of submitting its EUA application for the age group, Politico reported that the FDA might postpone the review process until Pfizer’s shots were also ready, a reveal that angered many parents and spurred a congressional letter asking the agency to explain the reported delay. The FDA’s current timeline appears to confirm those speculations of a simultaneous review.

The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech doses have several differences. Moderna’s shots are a two-dose regimen spaced four weeks apart, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires three doses each spaced three weeks apart. The Pfizer-BioNTech shots were 80% effective in clinical trials, while Moderna’s were 51% protective in toddlers 6 months to 2 years old and 37% protective in youngsters 3 to 5 years old.

Researchers believe both vaccines offer a strong defense against severe illness and hospitalization in the age group.

In a clip from the Thursday press conference that has circulated widely on Twitter, White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre cut off Jha before he could respond to a reporter’s question asking whether “all schools will and must be open this coming fall.”

Any speculations that the Biden administration would advise school closures next year, however, starkly contrast with the administration’s prior actions and messaging. Biden has continually underscored his commitment to keeping schools open and oversaw a push to 99% of schools offering in-person learning in his first months in office. Although early in the pandemic an in-person learning divide existed between red and blue states, virtually all school systems reopened their classrooms for the 2021-22 school year, regardless of their partisan leaning.

But with toddler vaccines possibly rolling out in just a few weeks, many older children have not yet been immunized. Just 29% of children 5 to 11 years old and 59% of youth 12 to 17 years old had received two vaccine doses as of June 1, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The rates that have remained nearly stagnant for months.

The winter’s massive Omicron surge demonstrated the importance of youth vaccination, said Shu, the Atlanta pediatrician. Children under 5 were hospitalized with the virus at five times the rate they were during the Delta surge, a study from the CDC recently found. And in February, the agency’s data revealed that 3 in 4 kids under 18 had been infected by the virus.

“The kids who are ending up in the hospital are more likely not to be vaccinated,” the doctor told ����Ӱ�� in May.

It’s a major boost in efficacy compared to data from Moderna, which announced in March that its two-dose regimen is 51% protective in toddlers 6 months to 2 years old and 37% protective in youngsters 3 to 6 years old.��

Researchers believe both vaccines offer a strong defense against severe illness and hospitalization in the age group.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday its vaccine advisory committee will meet June 15 to review Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s emergency use authorization requests for kids ages 6 months to 5 years old and 6 months to 4 years old, respectively. Pfizer and BioNTech have not yet submitted an EUA request, but plan to do so by the end of the week, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said in a .

The agency’s advisory committee will make a recommendation on whether to approve the shots at the end of the meeting, which the FDA typically follows. Many experts hope the agency will greenlight shots soon after the mid-June meeting.

“I have some optimism that this will go well at [the] FDA advisory meeting and we might begin immunizing under 5 beginning next month,” Peter Hotez, co-director of Texas Children’s Hospital’s Center for Vaccine Development, wrote on .

Children under 5 years old remain the last Americans without access to COVID vaccines, and parents are eager to protect their children, especially as cases once again rise, said Atlanta-based pediatrician Jennifer Shu.��

On Monday, as the Pfizer news was announced, multiple parents of young children asked whether they could get their kids on a waiting list for the forthcoming vaccines.

“I assure them that we will make availability for everyone who wants [the shots],” said Shu, explaining that her practice has received ample pediatric vaccine supply every time they have placed an order. “I don’t think that access is going to be an issue.”

The news from Pfizer and BioNTech comes on the heels of a months-long saga that has repeatedly raised the hopes of parents anxious to vaccinate their toddlers against COVID only to later send them crashing down. In late February, Pfizer-BioNTech first submitted a request asking the FDA to grant emergency authorization for a two-dose regimen of their vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old, only to then withdraw the application just five days later.��

Then in April, when Moderna was on the verge of submitting its EUA application for the age group, that the FDA might postpone the review process until Pfizer’s shots were also ready, a reveal that angered many parents and spurred a congressional letter asking the agency to explain the reported delay. The announcement of the June 15 committee meeting appears to confirm those speculations of a simultaneous review.

The trial results released Monday clarified what experts have hinted at since February — that Pfizer’s two-dose regimen never offered the full intended protectiveness for young children.

“It was always a three-dose vaccine,” said Hotez.

The news comes as reported U.S. coronavirus cases are up 53% since two weeks ago and youth infections are also rising, though less steeply. With the increased prevalence of at-home testing, those numbers may fail to capture the full scope of new case totals, said Shu.

During the winter’s massive Omicron surge, children under 5 were hospitalized with the virus at five times the rate they were during the Delta surge, a from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found. And in February, the agency’s data revealed that kids under 18 had been infected by the virus.

Still, repeat infections remain a threat, and can happen of each other. Children who have not yet been vaccinated are more likely to get sick and, in turn, more likely to experience severe outcomes than immunized peers, said Shu.

“The kids who are ending up in the hospital are more likely not to be vaccinated,” she told ����Ӱ��.

Just 28% of children 5 to 11 years old and 58% of youth 12 to 17 years old have received two vaccine doses, rates that have remained nearly stagnant for months.

Aside from recommending that kids roll up their sleeves as soon as they’re eligible, the pediatrician believes schools should consider reinstating universal face-covering rules while infections multiply. While a few schools and districts have made that jump, the vast majority continue to keep masks optional, though some have upped their language recommending masks.��

Shu, however, knows of some children who have chosen to mask up at school as they’ve watched their peers get sick. It’s prom and graduation season, the pediatrician noted, and young people don’t want to miss out.

“If you miss some of these things, you can’t make them up,” said Shu.

Nationwide, reported infections are up 57% since two weeks ago and 4 percent of counties, including large clusters in the Northeast, are categorized as high risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s . Another 14 percent are at the medium risk level.

Still, only are requiring students and staff to wear face coverings, according to the latest analysis from Burbio, a data service that has surveyed K-12 policies through the pandemic. 

An outlier, Pittsburgh Public Schools in Pennsylvania recently opted to less than two weeks after having made masks optional districtwide. And Portland, Maine on May 12 also , but clarified that it would not enforce the rule at end-of-year events like graduation and prom.

Much more common, school and health officials are announcing guidance that residents wear masks indoors as case counts rise, but have fallen short of issuing mandates. New York City leaders are residents to wear masks indoors, but the nation’s largest school district has made no changes to its face-covering policy thus far. The Cambridge, Massachusetts superintendent put forward a May 9, “​​encouraging our entire school community to mask, particularly when we are indoors,” but added that “we are NOT reinstating a requirement.”

“While a small number of districts are reinstating mask mandates, what we are seeing more often is district superintendents more forcefully recommending use of masks while not requiring them,” Burbio co-founder Dennis Roche told ����Ӱ��.

Mia Miron, 13, is weeks from graduating middle school in Pomona, California. Recently, she’s noticed far more students and staff catching the virus, she said. 

Her friend in science class got infected. And the school called her to the cafeteria last week to notify her of a possible exposure in history class, though she has since tested negative for the virus. Los Angeles County, where Pomona Unified School District is located, has seen a 48% increase in cases over the last two weeks.

“This shot up out of nowhere,” she told ����Ӱ��.

Though the district does not require students or staff to wear face coverings, teachers in most classes now remind Miron and her peers that COVID is spreading and that they should mask up and frequently wash their hands, she said.

The eighth grader has worn a mask in school all year long and continues to now, but few of her classmates have heeded educators’ warnings, she said. 

“It’s kinda like 50-50” in terms of who wears face coverings in the classroom, she said.

Ameera Eshtewi, a Portland, Oregon high schooler who attends the Oregon Islamic Academy, a private school, said her school never dropped its universal face-covering requirement. She’s glad: mask-wearing gives her a “level of safety and security,” she told ����Ӱ��.

Across the country, reported pediatric COVID infection counts have steadily increased over the past month, but remain far below levels from the worst of the first Omicron surge. For the seven-day period ending May 12, the country reported about 94,000 youth cases compared to over 1.1 million over the same time span in late January, according to data from the .

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Pfizer-BioNTech’s booster shots for children aged 5 to 11. The agency has hearings to review Moderna’s vaccines for children 5 and younger.

Meanwhile, as the U.S. surpasses the grim milestone of 1 million lives claimed by COVID, just of youth aged 12 to 17 and 28% of children 5 to 11 have received two vaccine doses. The latest wave of infection includes many people who have been both fully immunized and boosted, leading to a belief that schools cannot realistically take a zero-COVID approach to virus mitigation.

Still, masking requirements should return on a short-term basis in school districts where virus risk is high, believes Benjamin Linas, professor of medicine at Boston University. He serves on an advisory panel for his children’s Brookline, Massachusetts school system and advocated for a temporary reimplementation of universal masking, though on May 11 officials instead opted to “,” but not require, face coverings.

“Unless we’re willing to say, ‘That’s it, we’re 100% done, there’s absolutely nothing we can do to mitigate [COVID spread],’ — and I’m not ready to say that — … then we’re at a point where we should be using masks,” he told ����Ӱ��.

The doctor, who was among the first in his liberal suburb to advocate for off-ramps from mask mandates earlier in the spring, added that “once-in-a-lifetime, big events, where interacting with humans and walking around and seeing each other smiling is mission critical to what the event is,” such as prom, should not enforce face-covering rules.

His stance on classroom masking comes less out of concern for curbing community spread, he explained, and more for a desire to keep students from missing school. Face coverings reduce virus transmission in K-12 settings, multiple academic studies have demonstrated, which can prevent young people from quarantine. 

“The reason we want people to wear masks is to protect our own education, now” while cases are up, said Linas.

The Food and Drug Administration April 29 that it will reserve the dates June 8, 21 and 22 for its vaccine advisory committee to review the emergency use authorization requests of Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus shots for toddlers. While the dates remain subject to change, they provide an indication of when doses may be available to those under 5, as the FDA typically follows the recommendation of the committee in the weeks following its meeting.

Members of Congress sent a to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Monday asking whether the agency intended to delay reviewing Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for children 5 years old and younger and for “the scientific basis and any other rationale” for such an action.

The move comes after White House officials told last week that young kids, the last age group not yet eligible for coronavirus vaccines, will likely have to wait until the summer for immunizations — a longer timeline than previously expected.

Although Moderna completed the trial for its toddler vaccine in late March and submitted a on Thursday, Anthony Fauci said that the FDA is considering reviewing the pharmaceutical company’s application at the same time as Pfizer-BioNTech’s, which has not yet been submitted.

“[The] two products … are similar but not identical, particularly with regard to the dose. And what the FDA wants to do is to get it so that we don’t confuse people to say, ‘this is the dose. This is the dose regimen for children within that age group of 6 months to 5 years,'” President Biden’s chief medical advisor on Thursday.

“Such a decision could delay the potential authorization and administration of the Moderna vaccine by several weeks,” points out Rep. James Clyburn, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, in its letter to the FDA. The committee asked for a staff briefing on the subject by May 9.

In early February, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted data on a two-dose vaccine series for children under 5 to the FDA, but in a highly unusual move withdrew their application just 10 days later. The two shots, which are 10 times less potent than the companies’ adult doses, were safe for all age groups, but did not provide enough protection against the Omicron variant for 3- and 4-year-olds. Pfizer-BioNTech now plans to request that the FDA authorize a three-dose regimen for children under 5, the companies have said.

The Moderna series currently submitted for review includes two shots that are each one-quarter the dose adults received. Trial data showed shots to be 44% and 38% effective in preventing illness among children 6 months to 2 years old and 2 years to under 6 years old, respectively.

But despite the relatively low efficacy, many parents of young children are anxious for a base level of protection for their kids, especially as mask mandates and social distancing requirements continue to fall across the country. 

For some, the idea that the FDA would delay the Moderna shots on parents’ behalf — ostensibly to avoid confusion — struck the wrong chord.

“If I sign a waiver saying ‘I don’t find this confusing at all,” can I go ahead and get the vaccine for my four-year-old?” parent and New York Times writer Whet Moser .

Meanwhile, a Tuesday report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that more than half of Americans have been infected by the coronavirus, including . Rates of prior infection nearly doubled over the course of the Omicron surge, the agency found.

Jennifer Shu, an Atlanta-based pediatrician, agrees that if doses are ready for emergency use authorization, Washington should not delay the rollout. After all, vaccines from separate companies were approved at different times for other age groups, she pointed out.

“If it’s ready to go, if the science has proven that the vaccine is safe and effective, then why not let the parents educate themselves on it?” she told ����Ӱ��, adding that health professionals like herself can help families make an informed choice.

Parents of kids under 5 may feel they’re being “thrown under the bus” as pandemic precautions dwindle and the BA.2 Omicron subvariant threatens, said Shu.

But despite thousands of families eager to vaccinate their toddlers, still more are likely to pass on the opportunity when it becomes available. 

Immunization rates remain relatively low for older kids and teens with 28% of 5- to 11-year-olds and 58% of 12- to 17-years-old fully vaccinated as of April 20, according to the . New immunizations have slowed nearly to a halt, with vaccine coverage having increased only 1 percentage point in each age group since mid-March.

Even as vaccination rates are flatlining, Pfizer-BioNTech is planning to seek authorization for a third booster shot for kids 5- to 11-years old after trials found that it offers added protection against the Omicron variant.

Their shots, delivered as two 25-microgram doses spaced four weeks apart, produced a similar immune response in young children as two larger doses did in adults. In a 6,700-participant randomized trial the vaccines triggered no safety concerns such as myocarditis or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, the company said in a .

“We now have clinical data on the performance of our vaccine from infants six months of age through older adults,” said Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “Given the need for a vaccine against COVID-19 in infants and young children we are working with the U.S. FDA and regulators globally to submit these data as soon as possible.”

The update offers a glimmer of hope to many parents frustrated that their young children remain ineligible for immunizations more than two years into the pandemic, and who expressed dismay following a dramatic reversal last month from Pfizer-BioNTech, which withdrew its request for FDA approval of shots for children under 5 just days after submission.��

“As an [infectious disease] doc and dad, I’ve been eagerly awaiting these data for 15 months now — sounds like we’ll see them soon. Fingers firmly crossed,” Roby Battacharyya on Twitter.

Trial data show shots were 43.7% and 37.5% effective in preventing illness among children 6 months to 2 years old and 2 years to under 6 years old, respectively. No immunized children in the study suffered severe disease or death, but neither did any youngsters in the control group who received no vaccine doses.��

Jacqueline Miller, Moderna’s senior vice president for infectious diseases, hypothesized that the lower efficacy reflected the Omicron variant’s ability to evade immune defenses. Regardless, she said, the shots convey a level of protection.

“What I will say is 37.5% and 43.7% are higher than zero,”, . “If I were the parent of a young child, I would want there to be some protection on board, especially if we see another wave of infections.”

The news comes as school mask mandates continue to drop across the country. Some 92% of the largest 500 school districts did not require face coverings as of March 23 compared to only 58% at the beginning of the month and 35% at the beginning of February, according to the .

On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that on April 4 the nation’s largest school district will be dropping its mask rule for toddlers 2- to 4-years old, which had stayed in place even after the city lifted its K-12 mandate.

Meanwhile, COVID cases in Europe are , fueled by the more transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.2. Even as infections continue to , many experts warn that the increases across the pond could foreshadow a coming wave in America.

As of March 16, 27% of children 5- to 11-year old and 57% of children 12- to 17-years old had completed their two-dose vaccine series, according to the .

With the vast majority of U.S. students once again learning in classrooms, 180 of the largest 500 U.S. school districts have enacted requirements for their staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an analysis published Monday by Burbio, an organization that has tracked school safety policies through the pandemic.

It’s a safety measure that health experts say represents a key step toward improved coronavirus safety in school — especially as younger students remain ineligible for shots likely until November. Although children rarely fall seriously ill from the virus, young people still make up of new cases in the U.S. and school-based outbreaks have triggered some already in 2021-22.

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“Most pediatricians that I’ve spoken with … absolutely support vaccine mandates for teachers,” Kristina Deeter, professor of pediatric medicine at University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, told ����Ӱ��. “It’s the right thing to do.”

In 11 states, coronavirus vaccines are mandated for teachers statewide, the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education reports, meaning a considerable share of the 180 districts with staff mandates enacted such policies because state law required it.

Still, vaccination rules , with some mandates having already kicked in and others not taking effect until next month.

Some school systems have more lenient policies, such as Philadelphia, which acknowledged that unvaccinated teachers , though they will be subject to twice-weekly testing. Others impose stricter sanctions, like New York City, which is barring unvaccinated teachers from entering school buildings and putting them on unpaid leave until they get the shot.

Even those districts where staff have a choice between vaccination or regular testing are included in the 36 percent tally, Burbio co-founder Dennis Roche confirmed to ����Ӱ��.

The New York City mandate, which took effect Oct. 4 after a brief legal challenge, applies to roughly 150,000 people who work in the nation’s largest school system, and of employees to receive their shots in the weeks before the rule took effect. Some 96 percent of teachers in the district have now been immunized against COVID-19, The New York Times reported.

By contrast, Los Angeles, the country’s second-largest school system, on Monday extended its deadline for employees to receive their shots from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15, fearing that strict enforcement would . Unlike the New York City mandate, the L.A. rule requires two doses before the deadline for educators receiving the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.

While many teacher mandates are in deep blue states, the San Antonio Independent School District has an immunization requirement set to go into effect Oct. 15. Earlier this month, the district’s rule from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton when a county judge denied the state’s motion to secure a temporary injunction on the mandate. A ruling on the policy from a higher court is .

Meanwhile, on Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state, .

“We are reviewing the new executive order and consulting with our legal counsel and Board of Trustees to determine how the district will proceed with its employee vaccine mandate,” a San Antonio ISD spokesperson wrote in an email to ����Ӱ��.

In lieu of mandates, other Texas districts are providing cash incentives for teachers who roll up their sleeves. , and each deliver $500 bonuses to fully vaccinated educators.

Vaccine mandates for students remain much more rare, with only a select few districts having implemented such rules. California districts Los Angeles, Oakland and Culver City as well as Hoboken, New Jersey have each made immunization a requirement for in-person school for vaccine-eligible students, with deadlines in the coming months. Washington, D.C. is .

In early October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that coronavirus vaccines will be required for all eligible students in the state, though the rule will .

Burbio’s count that 36 percent of top districts require teachers to be immunized comes as the rush to embrace such policies has slowed considerably. After eight states moved to enact educator mandates in late August and early September, only one — Delaware — has added a similar rule since then, CRPE reports.

But even as COVID case counts , Deeter, the pediatrics professor, warns that now is not time for the country to let down its guard.

“As the surge goes down … now everybody’s like ‘Yay! [The pandemic] is over.’ It’s not over. It’s not even close to over. We are just prepping for the next wave,” she said. “We have to prepare.”