Masks Cut Covid Spread in Schools, Study Finds

Since the beginning of the Pandemic, masks have been a cultural flash point. Critics have argued that there is no proof that masks slow the spread of Covid and that children aren't wearing the right masks.

A research paper details a so-called natural experiment that took place when all but two school districts in the Boston area lifted mask requirements. The researchers compared the spread of Covid in masking and non-masking schools.

There was a correlation between masking mandates and reduced numbers of Covid cases.

In Boston's public schools, where many buildings are old and lack good ventilation systems, classrooms are crowded and students are more often from risk communities, the rate of infections was lower for masked students.

The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Julia Raifman is an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health and an author of an editorial accompanying the new study.

According to Dr. Raifman, there was a misconception that children don't get Covid. The study shows that Covid is spread in schools and back home.

She said that the study didn't specify the types of masks the children wore, suggesting that any type was at least partially protective.

According to Dr. Raifman, the study shows that if people are wearing masks as a group, they can reduce school absences and teacher absences.

Many states kept the mask requirements despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifting them last year. Massachusetts, along with 18 other states and Washington, D.C., kept masking in place in public schools until February, when they abolished the policy.

In the Boston area, trends in Covid incidence were the same as before. The state provided funding and support for testing after it lifted the mask mandate.

The researchers used the data to compare the two districts that had kept masking for 15 weeks and the 70 districts that had lifted it.

An estimated 11,902 Covid cases were associated with the removal of mask mandates, according to the scientists.

The study found that schools that lifted the mask requirement had higher incidences of Covid.

She said that there was an increase in incidence in 12 weeks.

Four in 10 cases among staff members were attributable to the policy change, she said.

The study found that at least 17,500 missed school days for students and 6,500 missed school days for staff members were caused by the additional cases of positive testing.

According to Cheryl Buckman, her son developed symptoms of Covid within days after the school lifted masking requirements.

Both Ms. Buckman and her son have asthma and a blood disorder that make it difficult to fight off infections, and she became ill just as he was recovering. She said he missed more than a week of school because he was sick. She was ill and had to delay the surgery.

Ms. Buckman said that removing a mandate too soon is careless. He was afraid to wear a mask because he was made fun of when he wore one.

She said that her son was terrified of Covid. She said that he was aware that many people had died from it.

The data on its effectiveness has been criticized by opponents of masking.

Critics have said that masking may cause communication problems and delays in speech development for children with learning disabilities.

Many adults and children don't like wearing masks for a whole school day.

The new study was observational and not a randomized, controlled trial according to Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg. She said that it can point to a correlation but can't prove a causality between mandatory masking and a lower incidence of Covid.

According to Dr. Doron, the new study was only one publication and that the medical literature on mask mandates in schools was not very good.

Dr. Doron said that schools didn't abandon mask policies because they weren't effective at stopping viral transmission.

Children with language learning difficulties are having a hard time understanding their teachers. Children with speech difficulties are having a hard time being understood. Children with hearing difficulties are having a hard time communicating with each other.

She said that even teachers who wear a mask don't have to deal with discipline all day.

The new study provides evidence that universal masking protects against both illness and lost days of learning in a district where vaccine rates are relatively low.

If an outbreak occurs at the school or in the larger community, and after students return from vacations, universal masking should be put in place.

The school officials sent us an email a few weeks ago saying they were strongly encouraging masks because of the high levels of virus in the wastewater. The majority of students don't wear them.