The World Health Organization has issued new guidelines for mask wearing for children.

The guidelines say that children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks. Decision to use masks for children aged 6-11 should be based on the multiple factors, including if they have developmental disabilities, underlying medical conditions, and more. Children aged 12 and over should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults.

Currently, the extent to which children contribute to transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is not completely understood. According to the WHO global surveillance database of laboratory-confirmed cases developed from case report forms provided to WHO by Member States  and other studies, 1-7% of COVID-19 cases are reported to be among children, with relatively few deaths compared to other age groups.  The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has recently reported the age distribution of COVID-19 among children in the European Union, European Economic Area,  and the United Kingdom; they reported that as of 26 July 2020, 4% of all cases in the EU/EEA and the UK were among children.  Most of the transmission was within the household, as schools were generally closed.

The World Health Organization review of children and masks:

WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC_Masks-Children-2020.1-eng

The CDC has also issued guidelines for mask-wearing in schools, including the advice that children under 2 should never have to wear a mask.  Click here for that guidance.

Mask model is 3 1/2-year-old Brodi Bracken, courtesy his Mom, Sue Bounnharaj-Bracken