The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will continue recommending children wear masks in school going into the winter months even if COVID-19 vaccines are approved for more school-age children, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the Biden administration prepares to ramp up vaccination efforts for children ages 5 to 11, pending approval and guidance from the FDA and the CDC expected later this month.

“After we have authorization from FDA and recommendations from CDC, we will be working to scale up pediatric vaccination. That said, it will take some time. And as I just noted, as we head into these winter months, we know we cannot be complacent,” Dr. Walensky said Wednesday.

Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, says she is “surprised” at Walensky’s announcement, and believes each school district should make decisions on masking based on local metrics like vaccination and transmission rates.

“The entire point of the vaccines is to get back to normal, and the CDC this morning really has not been messaging confidence in these vaccines,” Dr. Gandhi said in a phone interview.

To date, millions of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have received the shot. There has been controversy about giving the vaccination to even younger children, since they are statistically less likely to become seriously ill if they catch COVID-19 compared to adults.

“Many of them have no symptoms,” said an Oct. 7 research article published by Harvard Health Publishing, a publishing arm of the medical school at the well-known university. “Those that do get sick tend to experience milder symptoms such as low-grade fever, fatigue, and cough.”

The FDA said in September that it was “eager to see COVID-19 vaccines available for young children.” The agency also said it would “Follow The Science On COVID-19 Vaccines For Young Children,” which according to the FDA, is primarily clinical trials and analysis from the vaccine manufacturers themselves.

The White House indicated that, if approved, the vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 will be produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and will have a specific dose and formula for this age group.

The White House also said schools could become places where children can receive the shot. “The Administration will work with states and local partners to make vaccination sites available at schools and other trusted community-based sites across the country,” the White House said in its statement. “And, for those schools who need extra help, the Administration will launch a new effort to match school districts with vaccine providers who will provide on-site vaccination clinics for their students and local communities.”

Economist/You Gov polling shows support for child vaccine mandates among Republicans dropped 13% since August 2020, but support for them has grown 6% among Democrats. The difference illustrates a growing partisan divide on the issue.