Bring kids out of the COVID fog next

Changing CDC recommendations for schools have had a guesswork feel. As the horrible developmental, academic, and mental-health costs of closed schools impressed themselves on the public, the CDC changed its recommendation of distancing from six feet to three feet. It also removed recommendations for physical barriers — Plexiglas around desks. But, we are now at a crucial point. Schools have proven relatively effective at controlling the spread. And now teachers have been vaccinated or have had priority for vaccination offered to them. If there was a vulnerable population in schools, it was the teachers and administrators. If we believe that the vaccines are effective at preventing the worst outcomes from COVID-19, then the already-low danger of schools has been dramatically lowered still. It’s time to let young children from pre-K to at least 12 years of age take off their masks, ditch any remaining Plexiglas, and dramatically relax distancing guidelines for them. It’s easy to quantify the damage that school interruptions have done to their academic development. And so health bodies should encourage schools to reopen, but the cautious naturally ask: What harm is it doing? And by the way, kids are resilient.