CDC: Mandates for masks kept kids’ cases down

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered more evidence that school mask requirements can help keep children healthy and in classrooms, showing lower spikes in pediatric coronavirus cases and fewer school outbreaks in places that require them.

In an analysis of 520 U.S. counties, the CDC found that pediatric cases rose more sharply in places without school mask requirements. And in a separate report that looked at Arizona’s two most populous counties, the agency found that schools without mask requirements were 3.5 times as likely to experience an outbreak than schools with them.

Though polls show that a majority of parents support mask requirements — and despite recommendations from pediatricians and the CDC — schools remain bitterly divided over whether to implement them. Opponents of mask mandates say parents should get to decide whether their children wear them.

The pandemic has already taken a toll on the new school year. In a third report, the CDC said more than 900,000 students in 44 states had been affected by closures between Aug. 1 and mid-September. Many schools are contending with challenges on multiple fronts, including outbreaks that force staff to quarantine and staff shortages that make it difficult to find replacements.

The CDC looked at pediatric case data for about 17 percent of U.S. counties and found that, on average, pediatric cases rose after schools reopened. But counties without mask requirements saw larger increases — about 18 cases per 100,000 more — than those with them. Among the counties the CDC studied, a majority — about 62 percent — did not have school mask mandates.

Because the data was limited to so few counties, and because it reflected all pediatric cases — and not just those of school-aged children — the agency said that “the results may not be generalizable.” Still, the agency said: “School mask requirements, along with other prevention strategies, including COVID-19 vaccination, are critical to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools.”

There is abundant evidence supporting the efficacy of masks in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, including with children and within schools. In July, the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended universal masking in schools to ward off the more contagious delta variant. In North Carolina, researchers closely tracking 100 school districts with mask mandates from March to June found very little transmission in schools. A case study in Marin County, Calif., where an unvaccinated teacher who pulled down her mask to read to her class infected half of her students, provides evidence of the contrary.

But opposition to mask mandates is still strong, and the issue remains deeply polarizing in parts of the country. In several states, GOP leadership has barred school districts from requiring masks, sparking court battles. School board meetings have become battlegrounds, drawing protesters and angry parents. This week, the national associations representing school board members and superintendents issued a statement expressing concern over reports that its members were being harassed and threatened.

“We are concerned with the increasing reports of our members — school superintendents and school board members — who are working to ensure a safe reopening of schools while addressing threats and violence,” the statement said. “School leaders across the country are facing threats because they are simply trying to follow the health and scientific safety guidance issued by federal, state, and local health policy experts.”