A while ago, I was asked to draft simple guidelines for #Infection prevention in our daycare centers. #Masks are not recommended by the WHO for children less than 5 yrs old.
I would like to ask, aside from the references outlined in the WHO statement, is there a basis for this? Are there masks that young children can use? Any suggestions for specific guidelines we can use to help daycare teachers in preventing Covid among children in their care?
Please boost.
@eeyam @novid down in his article on masks @Billius27 has a section on children and masks.. referencing multiple agencies using the age cut off of 2 https://billius27.substack.com/p/masks-evidence-and-use
@auscandoc @eeyam @novid @Billius27@mstdn.ca
I haven't ever done a deep dive on the studies around this, but I think 2 is pretty widely accepted. I see things like this frequently:
"Many studies have shown that masks can be safely worn by children over age 2, even if they have a health condition. Concerns about masks being unsafe have been disproven. Masks will not block oxygen from getting into a child’s lungs, and they don't affect learning and development."
Probably just the WHO being overly cautious. People have gotten really weird about kids and masks...at least here in the US.
@BE Probably. But overly cautious in the wrong way. Not as cautious against airborne pathogens.
I do hope we get more mask options for children.
Yes, absolutely in the wrong way!
@BE Thanks for this! I wonder what’s the basis for the not recommending for ages 5 below.
Based from what I knew before and what I was taught, 2 yrs of age was the cutoff age 🤔