Are schools social distancing at 6 feet? Or is it 3?

Have a question about South Florida schools and COVID-19? Sun Sentinel reporter Lois Solomon will find the answer. Email your question to AskLois@ sunsentinel.com.

“For a long time we heard that kids should stay 6 feet apart to keep schools safe. Now I am hearing that 3 feet is fine. So which is it? Are schools moving desks closer together now?” — Mara, Coral Springs

This topic has been quite confusing for a while. Schools in Broward and Palm Beach counties had been saying they try to keep kids 6 feet apart but were often noncommittal on the specifics.

For example, some Broward parents got a letter from their principal in January that said “social distancing may be relaxed” if more students return to campus.

School districts across the country have been saying for a few months that keeping kids 6 feet apart is unnecessary if everyone is wearing their masks. Transmission at schools has been negligible, and many credit these strict mask policies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its latest school distancing advice March

19, saying: “In elementary schools, CDC recommends all students remain at least

3 feet apart in classrooms where mask use is universal — regardless of whether community transmission is low, moderate, substantial or high.”

The advice is similar for middle and high schools. Here’s how Superintendent Robert Runcie said Broward schools will handle this: “If lower physical-distancing policies can be adopted in schools without adversely affecting our students, it will enable more students to return to the classroom for a muchneeded, traditional face-toface education.”

So nothing specific there. Palm Beach County was a little more detailed in a letter to parents and teachers on March 22: “Your child’s teacher will continue to distance desks as far apart as possible, in most cases by at least 6 feet, except in classes in which spacing must be reduced to between 3 and 6 feet to accommodate additional students.”

Miami-Dade schools had been following World Health Organization distancing guidelines of 1 meter, which is about 3 feet, 3 inches, and will stick with that, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.

“When COVID-19 vaccinations are available for all preschool and school-age children, will vaccinations be mandatory for school attendance?”

— Arely Cox, Delray Beach

No, at least not under the current governor. Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it clear that the vaccine will not be mandatory for anyone.

Most recently, on March 18, DeSantis said: “Under no circumstances will the state ask you to show proof of vaccination. People are able to make decisions for themselves.”

The discussion is academic at the moment because there are no approved vaccines for young children. Some are being tested, but they won’t be ready for preschool and elementary-age kids by the fall. Fortunately, teachers and other school staff are able to get the vaccine now, making lots of parents feel better about sending their kids back to school buildings in the coming months.

“I hear about getting adults vaccinated by May. What about teens? I know they do not spread like adults do, but they do spread and I am concerned about having my teen go back to school in the fall.” — Debra, Davie

Your teen may be able to get a vaccine now, depending how old he or she is. Pfizer shots are authorized for people aged 16 and up. And the company is about to start testing the vaccines in younger teens; it has enrolled 2,000 children aged 12 to 15.

Johnson & Johnson is about to test its vaccine in teenagers too. And Moderna is currently enrolling about 3,000 children to test its shots for ages 12 to 17.

So there’s lots going on in the teen vaccine world.

“If all goes well and these vaccines are proven safe in this age range, then we may have vaccines for the

12-year-olds by the fall,” said Dr. Chad Sanborn, an infectious disease specialist in West Palm Beach.

“Why aren’t we using schools as vaccination sites? All communities, rich and poor, have schools. In the 1950s, schools were used for polio vaccine. Health departments and/or FEMA could give the shots.” — Steve Rivlin, Lake Worth

This is a very logical idea, as schools are centrally located in the middle of communities, but it’s not going to happen for several reasons.

The main reason is that Florida schools are open now and would not be amenable to having hordes of people waiting in line, causing traffic jams and potentially bringing

COVID-19 onto campus when kids are there. Security has become super tight on school campuses, especially since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland in 2017, and few adults who are not staff are allowed in the buildings. During COVID-19, even parents are not allowed in.

Palm Beach County schools did open up four schools as sites for educators to get vaccines on a recent weekend. But the events weren’t open to the general public and didn’t take place when school was in session.

South Florida’s schools are closed on Election Day for similar reasons: Officials don’t want kids mixing with the general population of adults.

“I am helping a 16-yearold with a Florida Department of Health form to get the vaccine. He tried going to the FEMA site at MiamiDade College but was rejected because they said it’s 18 and up. I was trying to find out about Hard Rock if they would administer to a 16-yearold and no one I called at any of the hotlines knew the answer. Do you know if they would administer the vaccine for him there?” — Akiva Jeger

As long as he has that form filled out by a doctor, he should be able to get vaccinated at the Hard Rock. CVS, Marlins Park and Jackson Health are also possibilities. Check out the Sun-Sentinel’s list of all the sites and their rules before going.