NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- When might kids finally not have to wear masks in New York City schools? There’s no clear date or vaccination threshold in place just yet.
Mayor Bill de Blasio responded to the question at his Thursday press briefing, the same day that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine began its rollout to kids ages 5-11 in New York.
“I would say my general view is, out of an abundance of caution, I would keep the masks in place at least in the short term, because they really worked and because the kids have adapted to them well, the adults have adapted to them well,” said de Blasio.
The mayor, in his final months overseeing the city before Mayor-elect Eric Adams takes over, said that while the numbers have improved in New York in terms of COVID infections, he cited worries about upcoming cold weather hurting that progress.
“As an everyday person, you know, I look forward to the day when we don't need them,” said de Blasio. “We just need to make sure we're absolutely certain that that's the right moment."
City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi chimed in, saying their “layered” precaution approach has worked — which includes masking, vaccinations, ventilation and distancing. He also added that he hopes a vaccine will be available for those under five years old by this coming spring.
“I think we're all ready to look forward to that day, but we're really not at a point right now to say that at any given percentage of vaccinations and then all of our current mitigation measures could be removed,” said Senior Advisor Dr. Jay Varma. "We would love to be able to give a number. But what we've seen over time is that our ability to predict the course of the epidemic is just not nearly as good as we would like it to be."
De Blasio underscored that ridding COVID-19 "once and for all" will eventually come, and it will very soon become an "afterthought."
"I believe it's quite possible to get COVID, by next year, to the place that the flu is now in our lives, where, yeah, you got to take a simple precaution, but it's an easy precaution and you don't need a mask. I think that's possible," said de Blasio.
De Blasio said Wednesday that he has no plans to mandate vaccines among schoolchildren.
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