CDC Guidelines Relaxing Mask Protocols Leaves Young Children Vulnerable, Growing Discontent Among Parents

The latest regulation issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxes the mask mandate.

CDC Guidelines Relaxing Mask Protocols Leaves Young Children Vulnerable, Growing Discontent Among Parents

According to it, fully immunized individuals can forego masks for indoor settings.

Followed by the announcement, multiple states have rolled back their mask regulations.

Eventually, the protocols are being relaxed in some schools as well.

Parents of young children are left feeling vulnerable.

The guidelines of the CDC were welcomed by the majority of Americans as it is perceived as a step towards restoring normal life.

However, exceptions were seen among the parents of young children who are not yet vaccinated.

There is a growing feeling of being overlooked among the parents.

For someone like Jamie Able and her husband, residents of Nebraska, the mandate did not call for celebration, as both of her 7-year-old children are not vaccinated.

She stated that although she and her husband are immunized, trusting people that they will wear a mask if they are not vaccinated will be difficult, and that compromises the safety of her kids.

Assessing the threat on the children.

If research data is to be trusted, the rate of infection among children is considerably lower compared to adults.

An estimated 3.85 million children were positive for covid-19 until May, which accounts for only 14% of the total caseload of the USA, as stated in the data of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The report further implies that children are less susceptible to hospitalization and deaths due to covid as compared to adults.

The new mandate, celebrations, and confusions are both sides of the coin.

The latest mandate issued by the CDC is celebrated by a few while bringing confusion and uncertainty to others, few experts express this will make the credibility of the CDC questionable.

Experts like Cole Beeler, the medical director of infection prevention at IU Health University Hospital, imply that the probability of children contracting and transmitting the virus is quite less compared to that of adults.

The course of infection in children is not similar to that of older people.

Supporting the latest CDC guidelines he addresses it as a step towards the correct direction. 

He further implies that it will show people the advantages of getting the shots hence, encouraging more people to get vaccinated.

This will also prompt those who are apprehensive about the vaccines to opt for the doses.

What this implies for the parents.

According to Beeler parents should decide what is best for their children and follow through with it.

This includes following the older restrictions required or considering the probable outcomes for all the policies.

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine is now authorized for administering to children within the age group of 12 -15 years.

With this expectations are that children younger than 12years of age will soon be brought under the scope of vaccination, as expressed by Beeler.

This will ensure the safety of the children which can ease out the anxiety of the parents.

Difficult decisions for the families.

Baylor University’s assistant professor of epidemiology, Emily Smith states that the new CDC mandates are an added worry to the already hard-pressed families making difficult decisions for their children during the pandemic.

Another factor being the mandate’s reliance on the honor system which parents of young children don’t find credible.

According to Rebecca Muller, mother of a 3-year-old son and a resident of Collingswood, New Jersey, the new guidelines put the parents in a difficult situation about which social setting is safe for their kids to attend.

She suggests wearing a mask should not be a trouble if it guarantees the safety of an individual.