Dr. Marc Siegel: Stop shaming people over masks. Focus on COVID vaccines and testing.

Keeping schools open is of paramount importance, but we are approaching it the wrong way, targeting the wrong groups, prioritizing the wrong tools.

Too much attention is being paid to masks in the news media and by politicians on both sides of the issue. Although a proper fitting surgical or KN95, or especially an N95, have a distinct value in the fight against a highly transmissible respiratory virus, a mask is of limited value especially if it is the wrong kind of mask or isn’t worn properly, as is frequently the case with young children.

Don’t get me wrong, masks are useful, but we must keep in mind that they are the last ditch effort to prevent transmission, the final (if inefficient) barrier against spreading the virus.