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Masks and Vaccines Both Protect Kids From Covid
Three CDC studies show the benefits of masks and vaccination in reducing kids’ risk of Covid infection, hospitalization, and death
Now that school has been in session for a few months, it’s been possible to learn a bit about what’s working to reduce the likelihood of Covid transmission in schools. The arrival of the Delta variant made it clear that children and teens transmit the coronavirus just as well as adults, and Covid can definitely land some kids in the ICU, even if it’s far less likely than it is among adults.
But research has also shown how important it is to have most students in school, both for learning and for mental health and socialization, so it’s important to know how much wearing masks and vaccination help to keep infection rates low. A past study already showed how easily Covid can spread even in a well-ventilated classroom with most kids wearing masks if the person who’s sick, such as the teacher, isn’t masked. Now more research from the CDC shows that both mask requirements and Covid-19 vaccination can go a long way in protecting students from illness, hospitalization, and death.
