Thread by @HZiauddeen

🧵COVID-19: Kids and masks
Children can wear masks, can understand the need for masks, and can decide to wear masks. They do not have to reach the age of 11 to be able to do so. Primary school children in several countries have been doing so for several months.
1/10

The evidence for the effectiveness of masks is clear. It's why we're fighting for FFP2/FFP3 masks for HCWs. At this point in time, with the evidence we have, arguing that masks are not effective or necessary is frankly disinformation.
2/10

Arguing this with the case numbers we have, is frankly harmful.
And the benefit does not rapidly tail off below the age of 11, nor do the vaunted harms outweigh the benefit. We should encourage primary school kids who can wear masks to do so.
3/10

We do not want kids to catch COVID if it can be helped. For those who have moved from arguing that kids don't get COVID to kids don't get seriously ill with COVID, to most kids recover completely from COVID; COVID is now one of the major causes of child death in the UK.
4/10

We do not tolerate this amount of child mortality for other conditions. Then of course there's LongCOVID.
Given the high prevalence of infections in kids, we need to be doing more to protect them. Masks, ventilation and air purifiers would help greatly with this.
5/10

It is troubling how 'children don't get seriously ill' & 'children have already suffered so much' arguments used to perpetuate the false dichotomy of making schools safer vs school closures, are now being used against making schools safer.
6/10

At least before 'children have suffered so much' had some credibility in terms of wanting children to have schooling. But now it's arguing against making schools safer for children. Why?

The evidence is strong enough here & the precautionary principle is esp important.
7/8

If you're arguing about unknown future harms or against an imagined draconian imposition of masking on children or the damaging impacts that the second will have on communication, then you're arguing for a position that is more about and for you.
8/10

With primary school kids we'd encourage them to wear masks if they can. A few may not be able to for various reasons and that's fine. Those who can wear them will protect themselves and others. The more kids who wear them, the easier it becomes socially for more to do so.
9/10

And if you think primary school kids wearing masks is barbaric, that is far more likely to be about you than the kids, especially when it comes to those kids who would prefer to wear masks to protect themselves and their families.
10/10