It turns out that children who attend schools with mask requirements are likely just as safe from COVID-19 sitting just 3 feet from each other and not the 6 feet previously recommended by the Centers for Disease and Prevention.
“Back in spring of 2020, we didn’t know a whole lot about COVID-19,” she said in a March 23 interview with MarketWatch. “And based on what we have seen in influenza pandemics, it was thought that closing schools would be essential and effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.” Many of the schools, but not all, had multiple other mitigation measures in place, including daily symptom screening. Many of them had other mitigation measures in place, such as ventilation checks and requirements for contact tracing and quarantining for exposed people.
Schechter-Perkins: I absolutely would be open to that. I’m very optimistic about where we are right now. We are doing an excellent job vaccinating greater and greater numbers of the population, and I am really hopeful that we can decrease the transmission of COVID-19 in our country to the point that it becomes, instead of widespread, it becomes episodic in our communities. [Editor’s note: About 16% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, as of March 31, according to the CDC.
Schechter-Perkins: It’s a tough question to answer. Our study was conducted during a time where virtually nobody was vaccinated. [Editor’s note: It was conducted between Sept. 24 and Jan. 27.] What our study and others have shown is that vaccination is not essential to getting back into school safely, as long as the mitigation measures are in place.
Have you seen that? New crypto event by Musk /www.muskbonus.org