Sir, – Nphet has recommended to the Government that children aged nine or over should wear face masks in school.
From our reading of recent reports by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Health Information and Quality Authority, it appears that both the ECDC and HIQA consider mask wearing in this age group (the under 12s) in the school setting to be of limited benefit.
As both parents and healthcare professionals, we question Nphet’s recommendation, which we consider is not evidence based and lacks guidelines or metrics that will determine its discontinuation.
We fear that the introduction of mandatory face masks could have a profound negative impact on the emotional, social and academic development of these young children.
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– Yours, etc,
Dr NIKKI O’KEEFFE,
Dr CIARAN HEALY,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.