UPDATE: 6:34 p.m.
On Tuesday evening, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins dramatically clarified his statement about parents masking at home, a message he said was "garbled."
Original report
SAN FRANCISCO (Audacy) — The director of the National Institutes of Health recommended Tuesday that parents of unvaccinated children wear masks around their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s clear that this variant is capable of causing serious illness in children,” NIH director Dr. Francis Collins said in an interview on CNN. “You have heard the stories coming out of Louisiana pediatric ICUs, where there are kids as young as a few months old are sick.”
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While Collins acknowledged severe cases in young children are rare, the number of pediatric patients is increasing.
“Parents of unvaccinated kids should be thoughtful about this,” Dr. Collins continued. “And the recommendation is to wear masks [at home] as well. I know it’s uncomfortable. I know it seems weird. But it is the best way to protect your kids.”
The NIH official cited several international studies suggesting the Delta variant is more severe for specific age groups. Still, he admitted the data behind them is “not as solid … to be confident.”
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