(Bloomberg Opinion) -- So far, four states — Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon — have announced that they’ll do away with requirements that K-12 students and teachers wear masks at school. Others may soon follow suit. It’s time.
To be clear: There’s evidence that masks may have been useful in blocking Covid infections in schools. A recent study conducted in two large Arizona counties found that outbreaks were more prevalent in schools that did not require masks than they were in those that did. This is one reason that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — in contrast with the World Health Organization — has recommended indoor masking for all students and teachers at K-12 schools, regardless of age or community transmission levels.
But as numerous experts have noted, this study and others that the CDC has relied on have shortcomings. The two Arizona counties in the study, for instance, had different rates of vaccinations. Meanwhile, other analyses have found little evidence that student mask mandates significantly reduce transmission rates. It’s fair to say the evidence is mixed.
One might still make a plausible case that masks make sense as a precaution. But there are worrying signs that they’re imposing steep costs on children’s social development. Research indicates that people of all ages have trouble recognizing faces that are half-covered by protective masks. For children, the difficulty is much greater. Masks appear to make it harder for kids to mentally assess and process faces as a whole, which may weaken their ability to read other people’s emotions and form social ties. They may also struggle to hear their teachers and to pick up on nonverbal cues.
More study is needed to learn the full extent to which mask-wearing may have affected children’s lives and development during the pandemic. It stands to reason that requiring kids to cover their faces all day — with masks that often become wet, dirty and irritating — could have serious long-term consequences. Ask any parent who has seen their child fail to recognize a maskless classmate on the playground.
With omicron case numbers plummeting, it’s reasonable to recalculate the balance between the protection masks provide and the difficulties they impose. In doing so, it pays to keep in mind school-age children’s relatively low risk of hospitalization and death from Covid — especially if they’re vaccinated, as almost all of them should be. What’s more, there’s evidence that kids do not readily spread the coronavirus to their elders at school.
For now, and unless Covid resurges in some new form, the potential harm caused by masks seems to outweigh the benefits. States and districts need to make a plan for relaxing these mandates — and then scrapping them altogether.
Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.
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