A wind of freedom could blow through the school in the spring. The Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, sketched on Sunday the end of the mask in class on sunny days.
“It is eminently desirable that the mask can be removed from children as soon as possible (…). It will most likely happen before the end of the school year, ”he said at the microphone of France Inter.
Studies but no consensus
Wearing a mask in classes stems from a simple observation, that of the method of transmission of the coronavirus: the Covid-19 is transmitted by droplets suspended in the air, expelled by the mouth and nose and which can be retained masks. In a closed place, the contamination is greater. And in the classrooms, ventilation is not always easy to set up, especially in winter. The mask at school is therefore, at worst, a precautionary measure.
However, two American studies seem to show that it reduces contamination. These were published last September and carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The first study covers a thousand schools in Arizona: it showed that the risk of a “cluster” is 3.5 times greater in schools that do not require students and staff to wear masks than in those who decided on it (a cluster includes several cases).
The other study was county-wide. The authors were interested in the incidence rate among minors and wanted to know if it varied according to the obligation (or not) to wear a mask at school. It shows that the rate increased everywhere at the time of the start of the school year, but more in the districts where the mask was not compulsory.
However, these two studies should be taken with caution, as other factors may have had an impact on the results, despite the authors’ precautions. For lack of hindsight on the coronavirus and data, there is also no scientific consensus on the effectiveness of the mask at school, one way or the other.
However, it should be remembered that the protection of children is not the only variable at stake. The purpose of the mask is also to limit transmission to teachers and adults in contact with children who are often asymptomatic. According to a study by the Institut Pasteur, education also promotes the transmission of the virus. “Within the home, having a child in school represents an increased risk of infection for adults, especially those cared for by a childminder (+39%), and those who go to college (+27%) and high school ( +29%)”, details the study.
Risks of respiratory syndromes in children
For Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, if imposing the mask at school is useless, it is also because the children do not risk “not much” in the face of Covid-19. Since the start of the pandemic, children have indeed been less prone to severe forms. But with the arrival of the omicron variant, which has multiplied the contaminations, the health authorities have seen an increase in the number of PIMS (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome), noted at the end of January Public Health France in an alert. Between March 2, 2020 and January 23, 2022, 932 cases were reported, including 849 related to Covid-19. For a median age of 7 years.
This inflammatory disease occurs about two to six weeks after infection. So far, two-thirds of children with PIMS have had to be admitted to intensive care or a continuing care unit. Out of 4,000 infected children, one will develop PIMS, whereas this disease normally affects 5.9 children under 18 per 100,000. case of PIMS”, still alerts Public Health France, which however seems to outline less severe forms linked to Omicron even if they are more frequent.
Other good news, vaccination divides the risk of contracting PIMS by 100, according to American data obtained in 12-18 year olds as indicated by the study coordinated by François Angoulvant and published in a letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (JAMA) (link in English). Enough to encourage the vaccination of the youngest, which skates in France around 5% among ten years and under.
However, we must not forget children with comorbidities, who have the same risk of complications as adults. Hence the recommendation made last November by the HAS to vaccinate them as a priority against Covid-19.