PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mask mandates are dropping in many places because of low COVID-19 infection rates. But what should unvaccinated people do — particularly, children under the age of 5?
Parents need to stay on top of what’s going on within their individual communities when weighing masking decisions, said Dr. Julia Shaklee Sammons, assistant vice president of the Office of Preparedness, Prevention and Response at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“Follow the emerging guidance and use the rate of community spread that is going on around you,” she advised, “to help factor in on how you will proceed in terms of masking or not masking.
“It is also important to consider the venue where you will be attending, such as whether you are going to be at an event that will be largely outside or are you going to be in a more crowded indoor event.”
Shaklee Sammons noted one-way masking offers a layer of protection, even if others are not wearing one.
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The country should be seeing a vaccine for children under 5 years old soon.
“We are anticipating that we will have more information on Pfizer’s vaccine for children under 5 sometime in April, but it is still tough to say,” she said. “What we can say is that we will see a vaccine for children under 5 very soon, and hopefully that means that we will be able to have protection more broadly for our youngest children, and hopefully have a more normal school year for everyone in the fall.”
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