Child masking associated with reduced COVID-19 related child care
closures
Date:
January 27, 2022
Source:
Yale University
Summary:
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.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new Yale study found that child care programs in the United States that practiced child masking early in the COVID-19 pandemic (May-June 2020) experienced a 13% reduction in program closure within the following year,
and continued child masking throughout the one-year study period was
associated with a 14% reduction in program closure.
==========================================================================
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.
========================================================================== Research has shown that children two years and older can safely wear masks
in child care settings. "It's the disruptions in learning opportunities
and care routines that harm children, not the masks," said Walter Gilliam,
a professor of child psychiatry and psychology at the Yale Child Study
Center and the study's senior author.
"It is our responsibility to protect our young children by providing them
with safe learning environments," Gilliam said. "We need to remember that
young children are incredibly observant. If they cannot see us smile with
our mouths, they still will see us smile with our eyes or in the way
in which we talk with them. Masks don't harm children; COVID-19 does."
Previous research from the Yale team, released in August 2021, showed
that 78% of child care providers are vaccinated against COVID-19,
a rate significantly higher than the general population at that time
(65%). However, most children in child care programs are under five
years old and not yet eligible for COVID- 19 vaccination. This leaves
these young children more vulnerable for complications due to COVID-19.
"Until children under five years old are able to be vaccinated against
COVID- 19, they are a particularly vulnerable population," said Murray,
a pediatric infectious disease expert. "We need to ensure that the adults
and older children around them are vaccinated and following other proven precautions for keeping young children safe, such as having children
two years and over wearing facial masks when in congregate settings
like child care programs." The study was conducted before the highly contagious omicron variant became the predominant strain of COVID-19
in the United States. "It is possible that child masking may be even
more important during the current surge of cases caused by omicron,"
explained Dr. Murray.
==========================================================================
The study comes at a time when child care programs are experiencing
increased staffing shortages due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, which
further threatens the vulnerable child care infrastructure -- and
when much-anticipated funding increases for early care and education
is stalled in the U.S. Senate. Child care closures due to COVID-19
illnesses and staffing challenges have made it very difficult for working parents to sustain employment. These closures also harm the ability of
young children to benefit from the important social and early learning opportunities provided by a stable, safe, and caring early childhood
program, researchers said.
"We know that children benefit from in-person learning opportunities,
and this includes young children, and we know that many parents rely on
child care in order to go to work," said Gilliam, an expert on child care
and early childhood policy. "Child masking will not eliminate all child
care closures, but it may help reduce some of them, keeping our young
children with caring adults who support their learning and development.
"Child care professionals have had it very rough these past two years,"
Gilliam added. "They struggle to obtain even simple things like access to COVID-19 testing, masks, and pay protection during inevitable closures. We
show how much we care for our children through how well we support these
child care professionals who are doing their best in very trying times
to keep our young children safe and well." The Yale Children and Adults Research in Early Education Study Team (Yale- CARES)conducted this study
as a part of a series of research efforts aimed at informing policies
regarding how best to safeguard the health and mental health of children
and staff in early childhood programs. Yale-CARES is an interdisciplinary
team of researchers representing the fields of epidemiology, pediatric infectious disease, vaccinology, child psychology, economics, and policy.
special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Yale_University. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Thomas S. Murray, Amyn A. Malik, Mehr Shafiq, Aiden Lee, Clea
Harris,
Madeline Klotz, John Eric Humphries, Kavin M. Patel, David
Wilkinson, Inci Yildirim, Jad A. Elharake, Rachel Diaz, Chin Reyes,
Saad B. Omer, Walter S. Gilliam. Association of Child Masking With
COVID-19-Related Closures in US Childcare Programs. JAMA Network
Open, 2022; 5 (1): e2141227 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.41227 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220127114321.htm
--- up 7 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)