CDC: Kids Need to Mask Up at School This Fall

They’re angling toward recommending COVID shots, too, against both the data and common sense.

Updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came down in a Friday news dump before the weekend. Honestly, there isn't much of an update, except to say that they still expect our children to wear masks for in-person instruction in the fall. Per the updated guidelines, "Masks should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated."
That essentially means millions of school-aged children across the country can expect more months of hiding their faces behind masks at school. It's not shocking, but it’s still disappointing.
Where does vaccination of young children stand at this point? Clinical trials are still ongoing to assess vaccine safety and efficacy in children aged 6 months through 11 years. It's a safe bet to say that vaccines eventually will be recommended for all children 6 months and older. The CDC is laying the groundwork with their latest recommendations to eventually say, "Until you vaccinate your child, he or she should wear a mask at school." They are building the foundation to hold parents hostage in this way. As their name implies, the CDC definitely has a firm grasp on the concept of control.
What the CDC doesn't have a firm grasp on, unfortunately, is the basic epidemiology pertaining to this pandemic as it relates to children. Vaccines are medications. There is no good reason to take a medication if the risk-benefit ratio is greater than 1. In other words, if a person is certain that the benefit from taking a medication outweighs the risk, only then should that person consider taking it. For elderly adults and for people with chronic health conditions, getting a COVID vaccine makes a lot of sense. It's even a good idea for younger, healthy adults to get the vaccine too, I would argue. It helps the population reach herd immunity, and it also protects them from exceedingly rare (but not impossible) bad outcomes from COVID-19.
I'm finding it hard to see how it's ever truly indicated for yo...