As the omicron variant rages on, new, more effective masks are needed to properly protect students and teachers from infection. The New York City Department of Education has been offering KN95 masks to teachers in hopes of reducing the spread.

One problem: this offer is not being extended to students.

Students outnumber teachers in an average ratio of 14 to 1, while also remaining unmasked around each other during packed lunchroom periods while eating. Furthermore, over 38,000 teachers and students in New York City public schools have reported positive COVID tests since the Dec. 24 start of winter recess, representing more virus cases than the entire rest of the school year combined.

According to results published by the CDC in Spring 2021, if someone were to use "tightly sealed N95s-where only %1 of particles enter the facepiece- they will have 2,500 hours of protection." New York City public school students are provided with cloth masks, one layer surgical masks, and other masks that aren't tightly sealed around the face and are less effective than high-quality masks like the KN95 or KF94, which are tightly secured to the wearers face and filter out 94%-95% of the particles in the air.

The N95 has been the gold standard for masks since the start of the pandemic, and they provide the most protection against Covid-19, including the omicron variant. Now that they’re no longer in critically short supply, they’re also the best option for day-to-day use.

So why is the DOE moving forward with this exclusionary policy despite the proof that more effective masks are needed to protect against Covid-19? 

Students' lives and safety are just as important as school staff and educators. Quality masks (N95, KN95, KF94) are needed by BOTH students and teachers to prevent the spread of an already extremely infectious Covid-19 variant.