To mask or not to mask: Pediatricians and the CDC don’t fully agree

LAST COVID SCHOOL YEAR, MANY PARENTS HAD TO DECIDE BETWEEN CLASSROOM AND REMOTE LEARNING.

THIS YEAR – THEY HAVE ANOTHER BIG DECISION.
MASK OR NO MASK.
AND THE GUIDANCE THEY’RE GETTING IS A BIT CONFUSING.

LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT:

THIS SUMMER, THE CDC ISSUED GUIDANCE ON MASK WEARING IN SCHOOLS.

SO DID THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, WHICH IS MADE UP OF
THOUSANDS OF PEDIATRICIANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

BOTH GROUPS AGREE, IT’S CRITICAL TO GET STUDENTS BACK INTO
SCHOOLS. BUT HOW TO DO IT SAFELY IS WHERE THEY DIFFER.

THE CDC IS ACTUALLY *RELAXING THEIR SCHOOL
GUIDANCE…. SAYING ONLY UNVACCINATED PEOPLE OLDER THAN TWO NEED
TO WEAR MASKS.

BUT THE CDC – ADDS A PRETTY BIG ASTERISK:

BECAUSE THE DELTA VARIANT IS SPREADING, THE CDC SAYS LOCAL
OFFICIALS NEED TO CONSIDER VACCINATION RATES AND A SPIKE IN CASES…
WITH WHETHER OR NOT TO REQUIRE MASKS.SO BASICALLY THE CDC IS SAYING – YOU DON’T NEED TO WEAR A MASK,
UNLESS YOU NEED TO WEAR A MASK.

NOW TO THE AAP. IT RECOMMENDS *EVERYONE* OVER THE AGE OF 2
NEEDS TO WEAR A MASK AT SCHOOL.

THEY GIVE TWO BIG REASONS:

FIRST- STUDENTS UNDER THE AGE OF 12 AREN’T EVEN ELIGIBLE FOR
THE COVID VACCINE.

AND SECOND- IT COULD BE DIFFICULT FOR SCHOOLS TO STAY UP TO DATE
ON STUDENT’S VACCINATION STATUSES…AND THEREFORE DIFFICULT TO
MONITOR AND ENFORCE MASK POLICIES.

HERE’S THE BIGGEST HITCH – EVEN WITH ALL THESE EXPERT
RECOMMENDATIONS – MANY STATES AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE ALREADY
MADE THE DECISION, NOT TO REQUIRE UNIVERSAL MASKING IN THE FALL.

SO ULTIMATELY — IT MAY BE UP TO YOU, MOM AND DAD – TO MAKE YOUR OWN
MASK MANDATE

IF IT’S SPIKING IN YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHAT WILL YOU DO?

LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
AND HEAD OVER TO OUR WEBSITE IF YOU WANT TO READ THE FULL
GUIDANCE FROM BOTH THE CDC AND AAP.