Child masking associated with reduced Covid-19 issues: Study

In a first-of-its-kind study on child masking, a research team states that child masking is effective in lowering risks of Covid-19. The study was published in the JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Medical Association. Experiences of 6,654 centre-based and home-based child care professionals from all 50 US states were studied during a one-year period from May/June 2020 to May/June 2021.
The study was part of a series of studies aimed at informing policies regarding the health and well-being of children in child care programs. It is believed to be the first large-scale longitudinal study of the potential effects of various safety measures used to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in child care programs and keep this essential service open for working families.
Child masking in schools and child care centres is a hotly debated topic, especially with a surge in cases due to the Omicron variant of the virus. During the study, 43 per cent of child care programs had closed at least temporarily due to a suspected or confirmed case of Covid-19. Amongst all safety measures that were studied, including adult and child masking, 6-foot distancing, controlled arrivals and departures, child masking emerged as the most successful strategy that led to reduced child care closure rates.
Thomas Murray, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital and lead author of the study, said, “We have been seeing increased numbers of children, especially young children not yet able to be vaccinated against Covid-19, admitted to our children’s hospital. It is heartening to know that following child masking recommendations for children two years and older may be an effective means for keeping young children in child care programs and potentially lowering their risk for Covid-19.”