Controversy among experts about the use of the mask in schools: do masks stop the COVID virus?

In some Argentine provinces, such as Mendoza and the City of Buenos Aires, the use of the compulsory mask in schools began to have a second analysis. Since, at present, the use of masks is questioned for some school age groups. A recent study published by Spanish scientists, which has not yet been validated by their peers, pointed out that the use of masks in schools is not decisive in containing the transmission of COVID-19 infections. However, experts warn that this situation should be evaluated under particular epidemiological situations and for specific ages.

The study led by Spanish researchers assured, after analyzing the first quarter of the 2021-2022 academic year in a Catalan community, that “the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 was significantly lower in preschool than in primary education”, whereas in Spain the compulsory use of masks was established in children under 6 years of age. “Children aged 3 and 4 years had the lowest results for all the epidemiological variables analyzed, while children aged 11 had the highest values,” the document stated.

The research also noted that “mandatory mandates for the use of face masks (FCM) in schools were not associated with a lower incidence or transmission of SARS-CoV-2″, which is why they assured that the data “suggest that this intervention was not effective”. “On the other hand, age dependence was the most important factor in explaining the risk of transmission for children attending school,” emphasizes the study that does not have peer validation.

“We analyzed the first trimester of the course at a time when, for each positive case, peers were screened and we could see the transmission that was in each age group. If the implementation of the mask had a significant effect of reducing transmission, we would find less transmission in the first grade of primary school than in P5 [the last year of early childhood education]. But there are no differences between these two courses,” said Clara Prats, physicist and researcher in the Computational Biology and Complex Systems group at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) who conducted the study.

In this regard, Quique Bassat, pediatrician and epidemiologist at the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), also a member of the team of scientists that conducted the study, said that “the mask protects, but in young children, aged three to 11 years, where transmission is lower and risk attitudes are different from those of adolescents, the impact of this measure is more modest.”

“It's a small study, 140 children were analyzed in Barcelona and we will have to see what percentage of children were vaccinated, for example, because there are many factors. Then it must be contrasted with experiences in other latitudes and at other levels of vaccination, both in children and adults,” infectious scientist Elena Obieta (MN 76451) explained to Infobae. At the same time, he stressed that this analysis cannot be extrapolated to cinemas, theaters or other closed areas, especially in the presence of adults. “We know that adults are more contagious than boys,” he added.

In this regard, Ricardo Teijeiro (MN 58065), an infectiologist at the Pirovano Hospital, assured that this study should be interpreted “according to viral circulation”. “When there is a low viral circulation, the mask loses, in some way, the level of protection, especially in school-age children. In them, for the moment, the use of the mask is to be inside the classroom; but when they go out to recess or to other parts outdoors, the direct contact they have goes beyond the use of the mask,” he said.

The younger the age, the greater immunity

Both Teijeiro and Obieta emphasize that boys, the younger they are in age, the greater the immunity they present. Especially when it comes to antibodies that are in the first line of defense: the nose. Called as Immunoglobulin A (IgA), this body's line of defense is hidden in the mucous membranes.

“This study points out, comparing first-grade boys with masks versus those in the 5-year ward without masks, that the degree of protection offered by the chinstrap, measured by the 'rate of attack that secondary' (NdR: contagion between close contacts after the first case was detected), did not show a significant difference,” he explained Obieta. At the same time, he assured that these data are also influenced by the age of the children: “The more boys are boys, the more immunity they have in the mucous membranes because they have more secretory immunoglobulin A. This is what could have caused children to stop some viruses better than an adult.”

In the words of the expert, “in primary school a 6-year-old is not the same as a 12-year-old child, for example. For 12 or 13, the chinstrap has much more protective value, although it must always be borne in mind that they are more effective if they are dry and well used.” In her explanation, the infectiologist stressed that “a small child without a mask would perhaps have more capacity to stop viruses locally and that is why the decision to make some vaccines for influenza, that is, influenza, intranasal, is interesting, because it is great to have the first immune response in the nose ”

“We also learned, and I argue, that the subject is not school if the classroom is well ventilated. The problem is the 'peri-school', which is public transport, which is not yet adequately ventilated; social gatherings and events,” said the infectiologist.

Meanwhile, Teijeiro pointed out that the level of contagion “is not significant” among children who wear a mask compared to those who do not wear it “because they have high social contact during times outside the classroom, so the mask does not reach a high level of protection.” “The use of the mask is being discussed in all those adults who are vaccinated, because it is no longer seen an important meaning,” said the infectiologist, while clarifying that it should remain a protective barrier for “unvaccinated, vulnerable, health care workers and those who are in contact with patients. It loses its meaning in those regions where there is low viral circulation.”

I KEPT READING: