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With U.S. health officials recommending that children wear masks at school this fall, parents and policymakers across the country have once again been embroiled in a debate over whether face coverings should be optional or mandatory. .
The delta variant of the coronavirus now threatens to upset normal education for a third consecutive school year. Some states have indicated that they will likely follow federal government guidelines and require masks. Others will leave the decision to the parents.
The controversy unfolds at a time when many Americans are at their wit’s end with pandemic restrictions and others fear their children may be put at risk by those who do not take the virus seriously enough. In a handful of Republican-led states, lawmakers have banned schools from requiring masks.
In Connecticut, anti-mask rallies have taken place outside Gov. Ned Lamont’s official residence in Hartford, and lawn signs and bumper stickers are calling on him to “unmask our children.” The Democrat said he would likely follow the latest advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The CDC on Tuesday recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools nationwide, regardless of their immunization status. The agency cited the risk of the highly contagious delta variant spreading, even among those vaccinated.
Alima Bryant, 33, a mother of four who organizes anti-mask parents in Branford, Connecticut, said she was not a conspiracy theorist, but she believes scientists have exaggerated the dangers of COVID-19 , especially for children. She said she would remove her children from school rather than subject them to wearing masks, which she said are more likely to make them sick than the virus.
“Especially with small children, I can imagine how often they touch dirty things and then touch the mask,” she said. “Plus, in kindergarten you have to learn social cues, and even with speech and all, it’s so important not to wear a mask.”
But parents like Ryan Zuimmerman, of Lenexa, Kansas, fear this approach could prolong the pandemic.
In Johnson County, Kansas, the state’s most populous county, five districts recommend but do not require masks. A sixth district has not yet decided.
Zimmerman, speaking at a recent meeting of country commissioners, said that while masks are only recommended and not mandatory, “95% of children will not wear them.”
“It’s not about comfort, control, obedience or your rights. It’s not about conspiracy or child abuse. It’s about doing to others what you want. they make you, ”he said.
“I’m asking you this: if it was your child who was at high risk, what if you were to send this child you have spent your whole life protecting to school in this environment?” “
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Another public meeting, this one in Broward County, Fla., Had to be postponed for a day this week after around two dozen masked opponents led screaming matches with school board members and burned masks outside the building.
When the discussion resumed on Wednesday, it was limited to 10 public speakers, and all but one spoke vehemently against the masks, saying their personal rights were being eroded.
Vivian Hug, a Navy veteran, brought her twins with her as she addressed the board members, saying she was tired of “own fear” and was giving up “freedoms in the name of Security”.
“Please stop the madness. You have already hurt those children who have to wear masks,” she said before putting her daughter in front of the microphone, where the little girl complained. that the masks made it difficult for him to breathe and gave him headaches.
But Dr Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health, said there was no credible evidence that masks were not safe for children. She said the science is clear that the face coverings have prevented the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
“If we want to have kids in school this fall, and as many kids as possible, masks are key,” she said.
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Amid the debate, there is also pressure to get more older children vaccinated. President Joe Biden has asked schools to host vaccination clinics for ages 12 and older, and states are also starting to discuss whether to require school employees to be vaccinated or tested. common for coronavirus.
“To me, that seems very reasonable to me,” said Dr. Joseph Kanter, public health official at the Louisiana Department of Health. “You are achieving the goal of providing a safe environment. You still have some choice in that. And it’s clear that most people are going to look at that and say that it makes sense for them to get the vaccine, given that. this context. “
The pressure to immunize children varies by country. Half of the 12 to 17-year-olds in Tartu, Estonia’s second largest city, have received their first vaccine, and local health authorities are working to increase that number to 70% before the start of the school year. Countries like Denmark and France are also actively promoting childhood immunizations, while others like Sweden and the UK have yet to start mass immunizing under-18s.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only US vaccine licensed for children 12 years of age and older. Moderna expects the Food and Drug Administration to vote on its request for children of the same age group soon.
Moderna said Monday that it expects to have enough data to seek FDA clearance for young children by the end of this year or early 2022. Pfizer said it plans to apply in September for children aged 5 to 11.
But some parents, like Bryant, say they won’t get their kids vaccinated, even after kids are eligible, until they know more about the potential side effects. Bryant said she knows people who have had severe reactions and others who think it affected their menstrual cycles.
Kanter urges families to immunize all eligible children. He said the argument that they rarely get seriously ill from COVID-19 is becoming obsolete.
“In absolute numbers, we are seeing younger individuals and children getting sicker in greater numbers and getting more severe numbers with delta than before,” he said.
Young people themselves grapple with misinformation and hesitation about vaccines among parents and peers.
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Angelica Granados, 16, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, finally got her mother’s permission to take a COVID-19 vaccine last month. She was worried about a possible allergic reaction.
“I’ve always wanted to take it,” said Granados, describing the blow as a choice between “going back to normal life” or risking infection.
Her mother, Erica Gonzales, stayed there while she received the injection and waited with her for an extended 30-minute observation period.
“I didn’t want her to take it, but I mean, it’s her choice. It’s her body. She’s the one who knows him the best,” Gonzales said.
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