New scientific analysis of 597 studies on child mask mandates for COVID-19 found that "scientific data does not support masking children for protection against COVID-19."

A recent scientific study, analyzing database searches up to February 2023, examined 597 studies and included 22 in its final analysis. The findings revealed a lack of randomized controlled trials in children assessing the benefits of mask-wearing to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infection or transmission.

The study utilized two independent reviewers and adjudicated a third reviewer to examine bias. It concluded that six observational studies, reporting an association between child masking and a lower infection rate or antibody seropositivity, had a “critical or serious risk of bias.”

When it came to the remaining sixteen other observational studies, they found “no association between mask-wearing and infection or transmission.”

The study concludes by stating, “Real-world effectiveness of child mask mandates against SARS-CoV-2 transmission or infection has not been demonstrated with high-quality evidence. The current body of scientific data does not support masking children for protection against COVID-19.”

You can review the study at the link below.

https://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2023/12/06/archdischild-2023-326215