CDC STACKS serves as an archival repository of CDC-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other public health information authored or co-authored by CDC or funded partners.
As a repository, CDC STACKS retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
i
COVID-19 guidance for operating early care and education/child care programs
-
July 9, 2021
Details:
-
Corporate Authors:
-
Description:Updated July 9, 2021
This updated version of COVID-19 guidance for Early Care and Education (ECE) programs, including child care centers, home-based programs and family child care, Head Start, and other pre-kindergarten programs outlines strategies for ECE programs to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and maintain safe operations. While fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared with adults during the pandemic, children can be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick with COVID-19, and can spread the virus to others. CDC’s science brief on transmission in schools includes information on scientific evidence on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among children and in school and ECE settings.
Most ECE programs serve children under 12 years of age who are not eligible for vaccination at this time. Therefore, this guidance emphasizes implementing layered COVID-19 prevention strategies (e.g., using multiple prevention strategies together) to protect people who are not fully vaccinated, including infants and children (hereafter called children), staff, and other members of their households. The guidance is intended to help programs and local health officials select appropriate, layered prevention strategies and understand how to safely transition their care environments out of COVID-19 pandemic precautions as community transmission of COVID-19 reaches low levels. This guidance is based on current scientific evidence and lessons learned from schools and ECEs implementing COVID-19 prevention strategies.
This CDC guidance is meant to supplement—not replace—any federal, state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which ECEs must comply. The adoption and implementation of this guidance should be done in collaboration with regulatory agencies and state, local, territorial, and tribal public health departments, and in compliance with state and local policies and practices.
-
Content Notes:Introduction
Section 1: Prevention Strategies to Reduce Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ECE Programs -- Section 2: Additional Considerations for ECE Programs -- Section 3: ECE Staff and Other Workers -- Section 4: Planning and Preparing.
-
Subjects:
-
Document Type:
-
Genre:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
[PDF-847.07 KB]
