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The use of masks, together with other precautionary measures, significantly reduces the spread of COVID-19 infection; however, the effects of masks on children have not been widely studied. The attitudes and observations of parents, doctors, and educators regarding the effects of mask-wearing on children and adolescents were collected using an online registry. Analyses focused on the responses of parents, the majority (87.7%) of study respondents. The majority of respondents (>65%) indicated that children complained of impairments and that they directly observed impairments in children that they attributed to wearing masks. Symptoms reported by respondents included physical (rashes, headaches, etc.), mental (fears, irritability, etc.) and intellectual (concentration and learning) impairments. Most respondents (73.3%) indicated some level of disagreement with existing mask guidelines.
Conclusions and Limitations: As measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 continue to be implemented, more research is needed to assess the risks and benefits of mask wearing in children. The limitations of this study include potential sampling bias, reporting bias, and confounding bias as well as lack of a control group.