Surgeon General Murthy: Vaccinated Children Will Still Need to Wear Masks in School

Thursday on CNN’s “New Day,” U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sounded off on masks for children as the White House prepares for the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to be approved for children ages 5 to 11 in the coming weeks.

Host John Berman asked Murthy how much the vaccination of children that age impacts the need for masks in the classroom.

Murthy cited CDC guidance that says those who are vaccinated still need to wear a mask, and he said that “will likely be the case for children.”

“You know, the CDC has guidance currently that says even if you are vaccinated, you do need to wear a mask, and that will likely be the case for children until the CDC changes it,” Murthy advised. “But, here’s what we have to remember: When our children get vaccinated, several things happen. Number one, we have a mental peace of mind and comfort of knowing that their risk with bad outcomes of COVID just dropped significantly. The second thing to know is it reduces the pressure to quarantine kids once they are exposed to the virus. We know that if you have somebody in the classroom who is exposed, but if you’re vaccinated, your chances of actually getting sick are much, much less. But finally, you know, I think many parents will likely feel more comfortable with their kids engaging in activities like sports and getting together with friends for birthday parties if they know that all the children are vaccinated.”

He continued, “Finally, I’ll just tell you this, John. You know I’ve got kids in school. The schools have had to bend over backward to figure out how to make things safe during this time. We’ve had administrators who have practically earned their MPHs and masters in public health trying to figure out everything. They’ve had a lot of support from the CDC funding from the federal government that is great. But I’ll tell you, many of them are just eager for the day when all of their kids are vaccinated because they know that would dramatically reduce risk and improve people’s peace of mind. That’s what this is really about.”

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