A study of 6,654 child care providers found that child masking was associated with a 13 percent to 14 percent reduced rate of program closure due to COVID-19 over the following year.
The first-of-its-kind study of child masking, publishing Thursday in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Medical Association, followed the experiences of 6,654 center-based and home-based child care professionals from all 50 states during a one-year period (May/June 2020 through May/June 2021). It was part of a series of studies aimed at informing policies regarding the health and wellbeing of children in child care programs, as well as the 1.1 million child care professionals who care for them.
It is believed to be the first large-scale longitudinal study of the potential effects of various safety measures used to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in child care programs and keep this essential service open for working families.
The findings come at a time when child masking in schools and child cares continues to be hotly debated, particularly as a surge in cases related to the omicron variant has led to a wave of child care disruptions, affecting millions of American families.
During the study period, 43% of child care programs had closed at least temporarily due to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 in either a child or staff member, researchers said. Although several safety measures were studied (e.g., adult and child masking, 6-foot distancing, staggered arrivals and departures, outdoor drop-off and pick-up), child masking emerged as the strategy most associated with reduced child care closure rates, keeping children in safe learning and care environments and allowing working parents and child care providers to remain employed, researchers said. Six-foot distancing of seating and cots in child care facilities, when used over the one-year period, was associated with a 7% reduction in the odds of COVID-19-related child care closure. The study controlled for the degree of local COVID-19 transmission in the community.
«We have been seeing increased numbers of children, especially young children not yet able to be vaccinated against COVID-19, admitted to our children’s hospital,» said Thomas Murray, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and the study’s lead author. «It is heartening to know that following child masking recommendations for children two years and older may be an effective means for keeping young children in child care programs and potentially lowering their risk for COVID-19.»
Although the study provides encouraging evidence for the effectiveness of child masking, only 9% of child care programs required children two years and older to wear face masks during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. That percentage increased to 33% by May and June 2021. Masking rates were much higher for staff members, with 64% reporting that all adult staff were wearing masks in May and June 2021.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Yale University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.