Governor Polis has long maintained that kids should be in school, probably because Jared and his husband Marlon have two school-aged children.
On Saturday, Polis admitted on his facebook account that he believes kids should be in school, like the CDC, because being in school “might increase adherence to mask compliance.”
Polis is referring to August guidance on the effectiveness of masks for young kids. Despite the fact that the exact evidence Polis cites maintains that COVID-19 spread doesn’t occur amongst school-aged children, and when it does, kids reflect get sick, the Governor is still fraught with concerns about masks.
The main study conclusions:
“According to the limited available evidence, young children may have lower susceptibility to infection compared to adults, however available data suggests that this may vary by age among children17, 21-25. Data from seroepidemiology studies and
transmission studies suggest that older children (e.g. teenagers) may play a more active role in transmission than younger children.11,14,17, 21-25
The benefits of wearing masks in children for COVID-19 control should be weighed against potential harm associated with wearing masks, including feasibility and discomfort, as well as social and communication concerns. Factors to consider also include age groups, sociocultural and contextual considerations and availability of adult supervision and other resources to prevent transmission. There is a need for data from high quality prospective studies in different settings on the role of children and adolescents in transmission of SARS-CoV-240, on ways to improve acceptance and compliance of mask use and on the effectiveness of masks use in children. These studies must be prioritized and include prospective studies of transmission within educational settings and households stratified by age groups (ideally <2, 2-4, 5-11 and > 12 years) and with different prevalence and transmission patterns. Particular emphasis must be placed on studies in schools in low- and middle-income settings.”
In other words, there’s no available data to support mask-wearing for school-aged children. However, Polis really, really need kids to stay in school to enforce mask compliance, despite the fact that
He’s truly not an advocate for children at all.
