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In my job, I work with some couples who are divided on whether it is safe for their children to be in public, especially in schools, even with N95 masks on (which have to come off to eat). The most challenging people are the ones who read the research on infectious diseases, COVID-19 in particular. They believe that the CDC recommendations are playing Russian roulette with our kids and that the long term effects of COVID can lead to life long disabilities in kids. The arguments for kid's social/emotional needs are dismissed as secondary to being alive and healthy. I admit that the CDC guidelines look like a compromise rather than best practices. Are these men right? Should we still be taking extreme precautions? Or would they be considered to have an obsessive specific phobia at the point? Thank you.
These are confusing times and it is impossible to please everyone. For overall context, let’s keep in mind is that we are at a very different place since the pandemic emerged more than 2.5 years ago—we have effective vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and understand that the virus is mostly transmitted through exhaled breath. For some people, the goal was and is to prevent severe disease, hospitalizations, and excess deaths. For other people, the goal is to prevent all infections, as even mild infections (which result in quarantine and isolation time) can cause significant disruption to education, the transportation industry, businesses, and other sectors of society. On one end of the spectrum are some people who are “healthy” and either perceive they do not have any or don’t care about “vulnerable” persons around them—these people have declared that Covid is over or perhaps never took Covid seriously. On the other end of the spectrum are people who may be vulnerable themselves (e.g., having an underlying medical condition) or have persons around them who they are concerned could be devastated by a Covid infection. The person who continues to take the most personal responsibility and perceives ongoing and continued risk will have been vaccinated, boosted, and continues to wear a mask in public indoor spaces. The vast majority of healthy children experience a non-severe illness with Covid. Long term consequences from a Covid infection are also rare in children. Now with these statements and context, I can affirm that despite a large number of mild illnesses among children in schools, I have been witnessing large numbers of teachers and school staff that have become infected; most school systems support a period of sick days to recover from the infection and meanwhile, the limited existing teachers and staff must provide substitute teaching and services. This is generating a huge staffing burden to an already underappreciated education system. And, we are only at the beginning of the new school season and have not yet entered into the coldest parts of fall and winter when we know respiratory virus season will increase. There is no supporting data that shows masking in schools has resulted in poorer education; whereas fewer teachers who are healthy and available to teach are far more likely to stunt the education of children. What is the definition of an “extreme precaution”? Are improvements in indoor ventilation, air quality, and masking “extreme”? Is the concern for the welfare of children’s education an obsessive phobia?
The Covid pandemic is now transitioning from a highly Federal response effort to a local response effort. For example, a court order in April 2022 effectively ended the CDC’s ability to enforce masking on public transportation. Less enforcement of control measures from the federal government should be expected. State and local governments and jurisdictions are now expected to provide their own guidance and policies. However, despite local policy and guidance, it is not wrong to mask, for any reason. It is not wrong to work toward improvements in indoor ventilation and air quality. And, all eligible people should seek to be updated with their vaccinations and booster.
