The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that children over the age of 2 wear masks in child care settings. Regionally, Austin-Travis County s interim health authority Mark Escott has consistently said that masks prevent classroom spread of the coronavirus, and that most outbreaks in Austin-area schools have sprung from extracurricular activities where students went unmasked.
In a spring survey conducted by DSISD s COVID-19 Preparedness Team, 66.3% of parents said it should not be required for students under age 10 to wear masks for the rest of the school year, and 62.3% of parents said it should not be required for students over 10 to do so. However, a majority of teachers and staff differed on the subject: 54.6% said they would be uncomfortable or were unsure of their comfort level working at school if students over 10 were unmasked, and nearly 70% said they would be uncomfortable if children under 10 were unmasked.
As vaccine supply continues to increase in Texas, the age limit for residents to become eligible for their shots will drop to everyone age 50 and older beginning March 15. Previously, all state residents age 65 and up were eligible.
In addition to Texans over age 50, all health care workers, school teachers, child care workers and those with underlying medical conditions will become eligible to be vaccinated. As of March 10, 4.7 million Texans, or about 21% of all eligible adults, had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 2.5 million state residents, or about 11% of those age 16 and older, were fully vaccinated.
In a news release, the Texas Department of State Health Services said the move continues an effort to protect those most at risk of death if they were to contract the virus. To date, 93% of the state s 44,000-plus COVID-19 fatalities have been individuals age 50 and older, and individuals age 50-64 represent 20% of all fatalities.