The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines Monday recommending that all children wear masks in school this fall, much like the recommendation recently taken up by most Bay Area counties.
Dr. Dean Blumberg, pediatrician UC Davis Health infectious disease specialist discussed how likely schools are to enforce these guidelines with KCBS Radio’s Dan Mitchinson and Holly Quan Tuesday morning.
"If you’re vaccinated, that’s the first line of defense," said Blumberg. "Masks are basically a second line of defense."
It just doesn’t seem feasible to permit partial masking in schools, said Blumberg. The American Academy of Pediatrics is "taking a more practical, on the ground approach," to masking recommendations, said Blumberg.
Although kids are likely frustrated by wearing masks, having guidelines is effective. "Studies have shown when you do have masking guidelines in schools, that children follow those guidelines more than 90% of the time," said Blumberg.
"They’re very resilient," he said. "We’ve had experience with in-person learning with masking in schools, and the children do very well."
As time goes on and more of the population gets vaccinated, it’s possible that COVID-19 will become similar to the flu, as something that people just have to live with, he said. "We’re just going to have people get a very mild disease," said Blumberg, with no masking, no lockdowns. "And it will be the new normal."
Children as young as five could start getting vaccinated in January of next year.
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