Until yesterday, the position of the Minister of Health, Jorge López, was that the evaluation would be in the hands of a “committee of experts” and that in order to take such a measure, a positivity rate of less than 5% should be reached. Additionally, he mentioned that it was first necessary that “in the schoolsthe teachers [estén] 100% vaccinated, and the student population, by more than 80%”.
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Why is the use of mandatory masks in schools no longer justified?
Percy Mayta, a specialist in Public Health, mentions that waiting for the conditions posed by the Minister of Health was a vicious circle, where “Blame for MINSA’s inability to manage is shifted to the population”. As he explains, the rate and capacity of vaccination has fallen after the ministerial changes since the departure of then-minister Hernando Cevallos. The expert emphasized the inexistence of a decree that forms a committee of experts and warned that the information used is outdated.
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For his part, Omar Neyra, doctor of Public Health, mentions that “if the children have already been infected previously, they already have a high natural immunity, perhaps even greater than with vaccines”, so it should be a factor to be evaluated. In addition, he considers “utopian and absurd” to seek to reach 100% of vaccinated teachers. “It has never been possible to reach 100% in any health policy. That’s unreal.” repair.
However, Dr. Raúl Urquizo, national dean of the Medical Association of Peru, was skeptical about the decision to lift the mandatory use of masks. As he mentions, “The infection rates will be evaluated and, if they do not increase, we can be certain that the use of masks can be voluntary”. The dean’s fear is that children could infect their families after becoming infected in schools.
Schools are not sources of contagion
“Countless studies prior to Covid-19and those that were carried out during the pandemic, indicate that the masks are not useful for application in school use”, says Neira. In fact, the only countries that continue to mandate the use of masks in the classrooms are Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
As Mayta argues, it is important that the measures adapt to reality. “In the beginning we had to reduce the transmission because we had no other alternatives“, Explain. However, today with vaccines the context changes. “Therefore, the measures that worked during the first waves no longer need to be maintained.”, he adds.
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The evidence, as Mayta clarifies, “does not recommend the use of masks in less than six years”. Additionally, he states that the studies conclude that “the school is not a contagion center”. Cases in schools are usually a consequence of community infections. Similarly, the data establishes that “children and adolescents are the ones with the fewest severe cases”, so it is not pertinent to force the obligation of masks.
Side effects of the mask
Beyond a health debate, it is also one about the development of children. “Experience indicates that the use of masks It has an impact on the process of neurodevelopment and comprehensive learning. In this risk-benefit evaluation, today the use of masks in salons”, explains Neyra.
“Studies show that there is a reduction in the learning of communication skills by the use of masks. In addition, the discomfort of wearing it reduces physical activity. Finally, there is evidence that prolonged use of masks increases dermatological problems”, details Mayta.