Welcome to Episode 31 of “COVID: What comes next,” an exclusive weekly Providence Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK podcast featuring Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and an internationally respected expert on pandemic response

COVID: What comes next - With Dr. Ashish Jha

PROVIDENCE – Children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination against coronavirus disease -- but despite lacking that protection, their fully vaccinated parents and guardians should not be overly anxious about their chances of becoming sick.

Rather, they should practice a degree of common sense – and, with a few exceptions, let their children be children.

That was the gist of a discussion on Tuesday by pandemic expert Dr. Ashish Jha, who also explored other subjects, including the “social science” aspects of mask-wearing now that fully vaccinated people need not wear face coverings in most settings.

“The single biggest way, the best method, for protecting kids under 12 from COVID is for adults to get vaccinated,” Jha said. “Because when adults get vaccinated, adults in general, they bring infection numbers down. And when the adults around the kid get vaccinated, they essentially create a ring of protection around the child.”

What about play dates with other children under 12 who also are not vaccinated?

Jha gave the example of his family. He and his wife have three children, one of them younger than 12.

“We tend to think about spending time with families whose parents are also vaccinated,” Jha said. “If the broad community around kids is vaccinated, then the chance that a kid will pick up the infection gets very, very, very low. That's sort of rule number one: Make sure that you're hanging out with vaccinated adults because their kids are also less likely to be infected.”

What about high-risk situations, such as long-lasting indoor gatherings with large numbers of people?

“Probably reasonable to keep your kid masked for a little bit longer,” Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, said during taping of the 31st episode of the “COVID: What Comes Next” podcast.

And what about children under the age of two, who are unlikely to keep a mask on for long regardless of circumstances?

“No masks, but they're not at super high risk of getting infected,” Jha said.

In recent podcasts, Jha has repeatedly emphasized the importance of community. Transmission rates of COVID-19 vary by state, region and municipality and thus your local situation, the physician and scientist asserts, is key.

“If you're in a community with very, very low levels of transmission, your child is not going to get infected,” he said. “Even if you get super-duper unlucky and your child ends up getting infected, they will almost surely do very well.”

The disease “for kids in general is milder than the flu,” Jha said. “My general feeling on this is we can't stress excessively about kids. Use common sense, hang around vaccinated people, and we’ll be fine.”

During taping of the podcast, available exclusively from The Providence Journal and the USA TODAY NETWORK, Jha answered several audience questions, including from a pediatrician in Pennsylvania who asked about New York Yankees players testing positive for COVID.

Jha’s answer, in part: “The broad point is in a population of vaccinated people, you don't need to do ongoing asymptotic testing.”

The dean also responded to a mother of a seven-year-old girl in Illinois. Her questions: “Is it still recommended for kids to wear masks outside with their unvaccinated friends; there are times when they are not socially distant from each other. Also, if my daughter is the only unvaccinated person in a group of nine vaccinated people at a family home inside, should she wear a mask?”

Jha said: “She's the only unvaccinated person in a family home indoors with nine vaccinated people -- no mask, she doesn't need it. She's fine because she's surrounded by vaccinated people. She's not going to pick up the infection.”

Jha’s caveat was that risk, while negligible, is never zero for pretty much anything. Still, he said, “the risk is so incredibly low that I would not have my child wearing a mask if he or she were surrounded by vaccinated people.”

Outdoor play, he said, poses similarly low risk.

“No mask outdoors playing with other kids,” he said. Not necessary. I know they're not socially distanced, but it’s incredibly rare to pick up infections outdoors.”

He added: “If your child has some severe health problem, you have to take my advice with a bit more nuance. Talk to your doctor. But for healthy kids, their chances of getting infected in either of those scenarios is exceedingly low. And if you are that very unlikely person who gets infected, he'll do fine.”

This podcast is hosted by G. Wayne Miller, health reporter for The Providence Journal