To the community:
We are reaching out to you as a group of concerned physicians in our community to respectfully urge private and public school leaders, boards and supporters to follow the recommendation made by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding masks/facial coverings: “All students older than 2 years and all school staff should wear face masks at school (unless medical or developmental conditions prohibit use).”
Since a significant portion of the student population is not eligible for vaccination, universal masking is imperative to protect unvaccinated students from COVID-19 and reduce transmission. There also are continued concerns regarding variants, such as the Delta variant, that are more easily spread among children, adolescents and adults. This variant has been shown to be transmissible even by vaccinated individuals due to its high viral load.
We echo the AAP in strongly advocating that back-to-school plans amidst COVID-19 should start with a goal of keeping students safe and physically present in school. The importance of inperson learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in 2020.
Universal masking not only keeps students and employees healthy, but it also greatly reduces the number of students and employees who are quarantined–the isolation of quarantine is not healthy for students and can be largely avoided with universal masking in place.
We are grateful that progress has been made toward beating this pandemic, but if we do not stay the course now, we risk losing all for which we have sacrificed.
It’s back to school time and, as many of us have friends and family in schools, we know that “strong recommendations” to wear masks are not resulting in the universal masking that is needed to minimize the COVID-19 surge in our community. Optional masking is not sufficient, as masks are most effective when all individuals wear them. Families, students and employees should not be given a choice to mask when that choice endangers the health of those around them.
Universal masking worked last school year during in-person learning. Please stay the course and implement universal masking until students of all ages are eligible to be vaccinated. This will help to reduce illness and prevent the isolation of quarantine.
As physicians in the community, we ask that you make the right choice to protect students, employees and the community. We continue to encourage all who are eligible to be vaccinated, as that is the best way to stop COVID-19 transmission for the future. But through masking, social distancing and good hygiene practices, we can decrease the spread today.
Lysa Aemmer, MD, Mercy Health, Spring Valley Pediatrics Amy Alt-Coan, MD and Pamela Oatis, MD, Past Ohio AAP Pediatrician of the Year, Mercy Health, Pediatrics Nathan Balusik, MD; Stephen Bazeley, MD; Lindsey Bostelman, MD ; Andrea Bruss, MD; Mark Bruss, MD; Zach Dooley, MD; Rebecca Siders, DO, McLaren St. Luke’s, Waterville Family Physicians Sanjoy Banerjee, MD–Gastroenterologist; Sara Barnett-Hamen, MD–Hospitalist; Bruce Barnett, MD–vice president Medical Affairs; Aaron Buerk, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon; George Darah, MD–Family Medicine Physician; Shonola DaSilva, MD–AVPMA;Rajat Kaul, MD, Hospitalist; Meghan Keaton, MD, Pulmonologist; Tiffany Lisk, MD, Hospitalist; Julie Miller, DO, Pediatric Physical Medicine; Kathleen Moltz, MD, Endocrinologist; Jeffrey Moore, MD, Cardiologist; Janet Moore, NP, Nurse Practitioner; Richard Munk, MD, Orthopedist; Deepa Munkundan, MD, Infectious Disease; Jennifer Ruddy, MD, Pulmonologist; Amanda Sherratt, MD, Pediatrician; Howard Stein, MD, NICU; Sharon Thomas, MD, Intensivist; Susan Tourner, MD, Intensivist, ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital Dennis Bartholomew, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Marianne Black, MD, and John D McBride, MD, Franklin Park Pediatrics Holly Brine, MD, Neonatologist/Pediatrician McLaren St. Luke’s Alan Burlingame, MD, Susan Clay-Hufford, MD and Gary Collins–Pediatricians; Brenda Hartley, MD, Pediatrician; Katherine Gerlach, MD, Pediatrician; Mohammad Ghali, MD, Pediatrician; Brooke T. Traloar, MD, Pediatrician, ProMedica Physicians Group, Toledo Pediatrics Cathy Cantor, MD, Pediatrician, Mercy Health Physician Group CMO Amy Cedargren, MD, Pediatricare Associates Rebecca Clark, MD, Pediatrician, and Abdelkhalek Elagamy, DO, Pediatrician; Melissa Moore, MD, Pediatrician; Jennifer Mullen, DO, Pediatrician; Lauren Uhrman, CPNP, Pediatric Nurse Pra ctitioner; Shari Sontchi, MD, Pediatrician, ProMedica Physicians Group, Arrowhead Pediatrics Jamie Dargart, MD, Pulmonologist, ProMedica Physicians Group, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Jon Dvorak, MD, Director of Medical Operations, ProMedica Physicians Group, Pediatrics Benjamin Goldstein, MD, Pulmonologist, ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children's Hospital, Associate Director, Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center Roberta Guibord, DO, Family Medicine Stacy Harr, MD, ProMedica Physicians Group, Perrysburg Pediatrics Ateeq Haseeb, MD, Mercy Health - Children's Hospital Erin Hill, CPNP, Mercy Health Village Square Pediatrics Shaina Hochmuth, CNP, Family Medicine, Mercy Health; Diane Kielmeyer, CNP; Family Medicine, Perrysburg Primary Care Cailly Howell-McLean, MD, Mercy Pediatric Groups Rakesh Kumar, MD, Gastroenterologist, and Dagmar Stein, MD, PhD, Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, ProMedica Physicians Group Jacob Maciejewski, MD and Ashley Muszynski, MD, Pediatrician; Katelyn Oostra, MD, Pediatrician, ProMedica Physicians Group, Oregon Pediatrics Heather Meade, MD, St. Vincent Pediatric Hospitalists; Robert Mills, MD, and Denise Padanilam, MD, Pediatricare Associates Colleen Olson, MD, Pediatrician, ProMedica Physicians Group, Perrysburg Pediatrics Richard Paat, MD, McLaren St. Luke’s Internal Medicine Drew Palermo, PA, Family Medicine, Mercy Health - Perrysburg Primary Care Mary Ellen Pizza, MD, Pediatrician, ProMedica Physicians Group, Toledo Pediatrics Eileen Quinn, MD, Mercy Pediatric Development Michael Retholtz, DO , Medical Director – McLaren St. Luke's Hospitalist Services Hamid Riaz, MD, Mercy Health - Family Physicians Veronica Rosenberg, MD McLaren St. Luke’s / Toledo Clinic Hospitalist Beverly Scholler, MD, Medical Director of Urgent Care for Kids, ProMedica Physicians Group Ann M. Steck, MD, McLaren St. Luke’s Family Medicine Residency Program Crawford Strunk, MD, Director, Sickle Cell Disease and Hemoglobinopathy Clinic, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Stephanie Williams, MD, McLaren St. Luke’s Fallen Timbers Family Medicine Shannon Wronkowicz, MD, St. Vincent Pediatric Hospitalists
