The United States' decision to mask children as young as two for COVID-19 has been extended into 2023 and beyond: The implications of this policy

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for masking children were out of step with peer nations. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control never recommended masking children under the age of 12 [1]. The World Health Organization did not recommend masking under the age of 6 and, for children ages 6–11, only in specific circumstances [2]. In accordance with these guidelines, no European countries recommended masking children under the age of 6, and the United Kingdom and multiple Nordic countries did not recommend masking children under 12. Over the course of the last year, with the exception of the United States, all European and American countries, including Canada, lifted any remaining primary and secondary public school masking requirements.