Thread by @ShamezLadhani

1/ I was asked to write an editorial on face masks for kids in educational settings

My conclusion?

We need to stop masking children in educational settings because, after nearly 3 years of the pandemic, there is no robust evidence of benefit

Short🧵

👉 sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

2/ My editorial accompanies a study that re-analyses a recent US CDC study and finds no benefit of masking kids against #covid19 when the analysis was extended to a larger more representative geographical region & over a longer time period

👉 journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-…

3/ The authors found no randomized controlled trials on masks & kids. They also summarize the confounders & biases of published observational studies & show how these biases might lead to perceived benefit of masking kids when in fact there is none 👉 journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-…

4/ What we decide now about masking kids will have far-reaching consequences beyond the pandemic - there are already calls for more invasive masking of kids despite no evidence of benefit. Many are advocating indefinite masking - for new variants, seasonal viruses, monkeypox, etc

5/ In conclusion, we need to make educational settings safer for staff & kids - larger premises, smaller class sizes, cleaner environment, better ventilation, improved outdoor facilities - but other interventions should only be implemented after evidence of clear benefit …/End