The Centers for Disease Control recently issued updated guidance saying that all students and staff should wear masks inside schools, regardless of whether they are vaccinated. This is a change from previous CDC guidance, which stated that vaccinated staff and students could safely go without masks on school grounds.
A July poll from YouGov finds that three in five Americans (60%) support K-12 students being required to wear face masks while on campuses where some may be unvaccinated. About half as many (29%) are opposed, while 11% are uncertain.
Among parents/guardians of children under 16 who are in full-time education, 61% support students being required to wear masks at school. Far fewer (27%) say they are opposed to mask requirements on campus.
Those who are between the ages of 12 and 17 are able to get the Pfizer vaccine, according to the CDC. But parents of teenagers who are eligible for the vaccine still lean towards supporting mask requirements on campus.
Among parents who have a child between the ages of 12 and 17, 57% say they would support K-12 students being required to wear face masks while at school. Among those who have children who are younger than 12 (in other words, not currently eligible for the vaccine), slightly more (62%) say they support masks being mandatory on school grounds.
Previous polling from a May 2021 Economist/YouGov survey found that two-thirds (65%) of parents said their child/children were vaccinated or would get vaccinated. Just over one-third (35%) said they would not get their children vaccinated or were uncertain about it.
See full results here.
Related: Parents of K-12 students want schools to open at full capacity in fall 2021
Methodology: 18,816 US adults were surveyed July 14 – 18, 2021. The responding sample is weighted to be representative of the US population.
Image: Getty
