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The exhortations from a regular parade of pediatricians and other medical leaders to the hearing reflect recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which called on all people over 2 to wear face masks. school this fall, even though they were vaccinated against COVID. -19. The academy said millions of young people across the country are vulnerable to infections because federal regulators have yet to authorize injections for children under 12.
Three days after the academy’s recommendations, Acting Mayor Kim Janey said Boston public school students will be required to wear masks when they return to class in the fall.
But Gov. Charlie Baker said last week he had no plans to reinstate state-wide restrictions, leaving decisions on tougher measures up to individual communities. Leaders from the Ministry of Elementary and Secondary Education said they would work with state public health officials this summer to determine whether additional health and safety recommendations are needed in schools this fall. .
Department officials were invited to Monday’s legislative hearing but declined to attend, said Representative Marjorie Decker, co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health, which sponsored the session, along with the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management.
Many parents are “sitting on the edge,” Decker said, waiting to see how schools will handle mask wear when classes begin in several weeks. Specifically, she said, parents and lawmakers want to know how schools will handle situations where some families refuse to have their children vaccinated, especially with the rise of the more contagious Delta variant, and no rule of thumb. Clear condition for wearing the mask at school.
“It’s very annoying,” Decker said.
“Going forward, we’re going to want to hear more nuanced conversations from the governor and DESE,” Decker said.
State health officials said Monday they will send letters to superintendents this week explaining the process of setting up COVID-19 vaccination clinics in schools and free COVID testing for any district that wish it this fall.
“As we actively plan for pediatric vaccinations, we will continue to think outside the box” to increase access to vaccines using “a wide range of strategies and settings ranging from pediatric and primary care offices to museums, schools, to retail pharmacies, community health centers, and everything in between makes sense to us, ”said Marylou Sudders, Secretary of State for Health, during testimony before the committees.
Several doctors have noted that schools and pediatricians could be overwhelmed this fall trying to administer annual flu shots to children as well as COVID vaccines, unless state and health officials coordinate better. system.
Dr Matthew Sadof, professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine and former school physician, suggested a new approach.
“Instead of requiring parental consent for this vaccine and others, parents and guardians should be given the option to opt out of the vaccination,” Sadof said. “Students who have not filed a withdrawal note this fall will be vaccinated by school staff. “
“This,” Sadof said, “is a public health imperative. “
Fifty-eight percent of the state’s 12 to 15 year-olds have received at least one dose of the vaccine, far more than the 36 percent nationwide, said Sudders, who noted that the state is a leader in terms of vaccination.
But statewide numbers mask a persistent disparity between communities of color, several health officials said.
Thirty-eight of those 42 high-risk communities are still well below the state average for immunizations among 12 to 15 year olds, said Alan Geller, senior lecturer at the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard , which presented a granular aspect to the progress of the state.
“Because of this data showing this great inequity and this great disparity by community, we need to focus more on educating parents in high-risk cities,” Geller said.
Representative Mindy Domb, a Democrat from Amhest, said Geller’s data is a red flag.
“It’s not,” she said, “time for a victory lap.”
Kay Lazar can be reached at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.
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