Lupe Hernandez’s vaccinated 8-year-old son, Nico, caught Covid in December and faces lingering side effects. Nico, who has special needs, will remain masked when the mandate ends at his school in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood.

Hernandez says her son already “feels different just being autistic,” and the last thing she wants is extra anxiety when he sees other students not wearing masks.

Tori Mikos, of Hampshire, Illinois, in Chicago’s exurbs, has three children in elementary school, and says they won’t be wearing masks.

“I’m thrilled that we are going to mask-optional,” she said. “This is something that myself and many parents have wanted for a really long time.”

But her children face new crosscurrents of pressure, Mikos said. “We’ve had more parents, even in the carpool, say rude comments,” she said.