Dr. Joseph Allen, an associate professor at Harvard University, spoke out in favor of withdrawing the masking of children in schools, especially as U.S. drug regulators will authorize the Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11.
“We have to be careful that it’s easy to see how we can sleepwalk into unlimited masking if we don’t set deadlines,” Allen said during a Friday night interview on CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith. “With vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds expected to be approved shortly, it makes sense that we no longer have to wear a mask in schools.”
Allen also noted that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established metrics for adult masking, the agency “inexplicably” has not established metrics for when children can take masks with them.
The CDC did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Allen repeated Dr. Anthony Fauci, stressing that the best way to protect children is to get adults vaccinated.
“We should make vaccines mandatory for all adults in schools,” Allen said.
The Director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health outlined additional methods for protecting children in schools. These include expanding the use of rapid antigen tests and improving ventilation and filter systems in schools.
