As the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spreads through the unvaccinated population, there have been renewed calls for mandatory masking in schools, regardless of parental wishes. While the urge to do something is understandable, masks have not and will not alter the course of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic.
The science (data) in support of masking by the general public, including school children, is weak. Don't take my word for that. This is from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine's latest review of the topic (Masking lack of evidence with politics - The Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (cebm.net)):
It would appear that despite two decades of pandemic preparedness, there is considerable uncertainty as to the value of wearing masks. It also notes that: Norway’s Institute for Public Health reported that if masks did work then any difference in infection rates would be small when infection rates are low: assuming 20% asymptomatics and a risk reduction of 40% for wearing masks, 200 000 people would need to wear one to prevent one new infection per week.
Likewise, in its latest review of the evidence for public masking, the Cochrane Library found (Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses - Jefferson, T - 2020 | Cochrane Library): There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. And from the ongoing review of public masking by the Annals of Internal Medicine (Update Alert 5: Masks for Prevention of Respiratory Virus Infections, Including SARSCoV-2, in Health Care and Community Settings | Annals of Internal Medicine (acpjournals.org)): Therefore, the strength of evidence for any mask use versus nonuse in community settings remains low.
Finally, from the CDC itself (Mask Use and Ventilation Improvements to Reduce COVID-19 Incidence in Elementary Schools - Georgia, November 16-December 11, 2020 | MMWR (cdc.gov)): The 21% lower incidence in schools that required mask use among students was not statistically significant compared with schools where mask use was optional.
Anyone who wants to wear a mask is free to do so. It probably does moderately lower the odds of coronavirus transmission - but not enough to have any significant effect on the epidemic. There is definitely not enough scientific evidence for a major public health benefit to justify the forced masking of adults or school children.
Furthermore, the attempt to force masking on those who don't want it is a distraction from the one measure that really does work: vaccination. The evidence for the extreme safety and high efficacy of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is overwhelming. Vaccination is where our focus should be. Everyone 12 and over should be vaccinated. The vaccinated and children under 12 are safe, by any reasonable definition of "safe," and have nothing to fear from the unvaccinated or unmasked.
I am sure that is why the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control does not recommend masking in school for kids under 12 (Questions and answers on COVID-19: Children aged 1-18 years and the role of school settings (europa.eu)). If you don't find scientific data convincing, consider this: between masking, social distancing, and shutdowns we were able to completely eliminate two flu seasons in a row in the USA.
Nevertheless, the coronavirus epidemic kept chugging right along until vaccines were available. SARS-CoV-2 was just too contagious to be affected by those measures - and that was before the much more contagious delta variant became dominant.
Can we actually follow the science for once instead of just talking about it? If wearing a mask or sending your children to school in a mask makes you feel better, go right ahead. But there is no scientific evidence to justify forcing others to comply with your wishes.
Get vaccinated, get your kids 12 and over vaccinated, and then relax and carry on with normal life knowing you and your family are safe.
Andy Walker, MD, MAAEM Past-president, Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine