Pediatric groups recommended Tuesday the continued wearing of face masks among children in indoor school facilities in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections and acquiring serious complications.
Both the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) emphasized that layers of protection, particularly the wearing of face mask, would limit transmission risk in school settings amid the circulating COVID-19 variants and subvariants.
PIDSP president Dr. Fatima Gimenez said children aged four years old and below are not yet allowed to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
Currently, primary vaccine series could be administered to aged five and above, while those 12 years old and above could receive the first booster dose.
“There are consequences to having your COVID-19 infection because you can transmit it whether you’re symptomatic or asymptomatic, and children can be asymptomatic,” Gimenez said.
“There is such a condition, a post-infectious COVID-19 infection called MIS-C or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which can have dire consequences because we have seen children whose hearts have been affected, whose respiratory system has been affected as well,” she added.
The Department of Health on Friday reported 3,939 COVID-19 cases for adolescents aged 12 to 17 from September 1 to November 3. The department, however, clarified that these were not specific to school children.
Aside from COVID-19, the pediatric groups said that face masks may prevent children from getting influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and rhinovirus.
They also recommended optimizing ventilation, maintaining at least three feet of physical distance between students in classrooms, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, staying home when sick and getting tested, cleaning and disinfections, and management of cases and higher-risk activities in schools.
