Dear Dr. Peterson and School Board Members, 

We write today as  parents of Minnetonka students in regards to the 2021-2022 school year and the masking policies at our schools. The recent email to parents stated “unless mandated by the State of MN, we do not anticipate students or staff will be required to wear masks in the fall”. We are asking you to reconsider this policy and take under consideration universal masking policy on all campuses this fall and winter as advised by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  

Studies show that the Delta variant of Covid-19 is quickly becoming the dominant variant amongst the unvaccinated--leading to what experts are now calling a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” and there are a number of documented breakthrough cases amongst vaccinated individuals that lead to transmissible disease. Given that children under the age of 12 do not yet have access to vaccines, it may soon become a pandemic of children. 

Delta reproduction rate and transmissibility has increased the efficiency of the virus spread. Simply being in close proximity (2 feet or less) to an infected person for 5-10 seconds can be enough to transmit the disease. If we fail to enforce universal masking policies in schools that serve children under the age of 12, we risk a massive uptick in the prevalence of Covid in our community.  

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, 23rd Commissioner of the FDA, has warned that our schools and children may become “a focal point of spread” and has emphasized the importance of masking until all children have access to a covid-19 vaccine. Per the CDC, “Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.”

While many children who get COVID do not develop severe COVID or require hospitalization, infection does result in missed school for children and missed work for parents. Also there is growing evidence that a subset of children who get COVID develop “Long COVID.”  According to one study children ages 6-11, who have tested positive for Covid, 12.9% go on to develop Long Covid at 5 weeks after infection. Amongst children ages 12-16, 14.5% develop Long Covid.  Not only does Long Covid in children have both social and financial costs, the consequences can be also debilitating.  We can lower this risk with the simple strategy of universal masking.

Another consequence of Covid-19 is the emergence of Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in children, predominantly those between the ages of 3 and 12 years of age. MIS-C is a medical emergency and is characterized by the clinical and laboratory finding of severe inflammation throughout the body. High dose steroids and other immune modulating medications  are required for treatment and frequently result in  prolonged hospitalization.  At this time, 97 children in the state have been diagnosed with MIS-C and, cumulatively, 113,762 children 19 and under have tested positive for Covid-19. Each of these children represents multiple missed school days, quarantined family members who have missed work, lost income, classroom closures, and missed activities. Universal masking isn’t just about protecting the masked individual – it’s about protecting our entire community including those most vulnerable. 

We know some institutions plan to work on the “honor system”--allowing  people to forgo masks without checking vaccination status. This is hardly achievable with our state’s current vaccination rates of 34% ages 12-15, and 47% ages 16-17 (Data as of 7/26/21).  In addition, given the politicization of this public health crisis, the potential of asymptomatic spread by vaccinated individuals, it is clear that relying on students/staff to mask voluntarily is not an effective means of mitigating the spread of Covid-19. Having some individuals in a classroom masked and some that are not, is not sufficient to prevent the spread of this highly transmissible virus particularly with the increasing rate of the Delta variant. Like all public health campaigns (such as no smoking indoors); we find the need to have a universal policy as the personal choices of some may greatly impact the health and wellbeing of others.

Universal masking in our schools will be essential this fall if we wish to end this “pandemic of the unvaccinated”  and protect our children. Our solution should not just be a “me” but a “we,” we all could play a role in making our schools safe for everyone and not just for the low risk individuals. 

We, your constituents and parents of the children you serve, ask that you take into consideration the recommendations of  the CDC, the AAP, and the World Health Organization and reconsider your current stance on masking this fall/winter and implement universal masking in our schools.