Fauci suggests parents should follow the AAP’s latest guidance about masks in schools

Fauci suggests parents should follow the AAP’s latest guidance about masks in schools

FILE - In this April 13, 2021, file photo, kindergarten students participate in a classroom activity on the first day of in-person learning at Maurice Sendak Elementary School in Los Angeles. California will require that masks be worn at schools when classrooms open this fall. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said, Friday July 9, 2021, that not all schools can accommodate physical distancing of at least 3-feet or more, so the best preventative measure is indoor masking. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

WASHINGTON — The nation’s top infectious disease expert is suggesting parents follow new COVID-19 guidance for mask-wearing issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The academy is recommending schools require face masks for children older than 2 and all adults — regardless of vaccination status. Dr. Anthony Fauci told “CBS This Morning” the academy wants to “go the extra mile” to make sure kids are protected at school because of the rise in cases blamed on the delta variant of the coronavirus.

That guidance is slightly different from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has advised mask-wearing in schools just for unvaccinated children and adults.

Fauci says the CDC is “carefully looking” at its COVID-19 school guidance.

Photo: FILE – In this April 13, 2021, file photo, kindergarten students participate in a classroom activity on the first day of in-person learning at Maurice Sendak Elementary School in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)