On Friday, health officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidance calling for toddlers to wear masks and socially distance “for the foreseeable future” — even well after every adult at the school or child-care facility has been fully vaccinated.
“Even after child care providers and staff are vaccinated, there will be a need to continue prevention measures for the foreseeable future, including wearing masks, physical distancing, and other important prevention strategies outlined in this guidance document,” the CDC stated.
While the CDC and President Joe Biden are strongly recommending Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19, the guidance Friday suggests the inoculation’s nearly 100% effectiveness against severe outcomes doesn’t matter. Nothing is changing, “for the foreseeable future.”
The guidance states toddlers should wear masks almost all the time, including while playing outdoors, and suggests that playgrounds with jungle gyms and swing sets as well as “communal” equipment like balls, toy cars, and tricycles “are important for healthy child development,” but “pose a risk of spreading COVID-19.”
The government agency went on to recommend children be split up into very small groupings separated by fences.
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“Stagger your use of playgrounds and play spaces by reducing the group size in the play area at one time or remaining in cohosted groups while sanitizing shared objects and high touch surfaces between groups,” the CDC stated. “If multiple cohort groups need to be in your play area at the same time, consider using fencing or another barrier to designate separate areas for each cohort.”
As of mid-February, fewer than 250 children in the U.S. had died of COVID-19, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. In addition, children are far less likely to spread COVID-19 and aren’t contributing to transmission of the virus in schools. And outdoor events aren’t posing a problem, either.
This contradictory guidance for 2-year-olds comes just days after the CDC stated fully vaccinated adults can gather indoors — maskless — with other vaccinated people and even unvaccinated people, as long as they are not at high risk of severe outcomes. The government agency furthermore said vaccinated people no longer need to be tested or quarantined if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
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