As fully vaccinated people around the state can begin taking off the masks when they're in public places, many kids will still have to keep theirs on, since children under 12 are not currently eligible for the vaccine.

What You Need To Know

  • As of Wednesday, state guidelines allow for fully vaccinated people to remove their masks in many public situations
  • That leaves many children who aren't old enough for the vaccine left to keep their masks on
  • Pediatrician Dr. Tony Vetrano suggests parents also wear their masks in that situation as not to single their children out
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"We want to make sure that they're protected and protecting others," said Dr. Tony Vetrano, president of Century-Airport Pediatrics.

He says young children should still be wearing masks to follow CDC recommendations and state guidelines — especially indoors in a public setting.

"Anybody who's unvaccinated, we do want to be extra careful," Vetrano said. "Even though children aren't getting sick from the illness, we should respect that they could possibly get sick."

Vetrano says while the risks of children getting sick themselves or spreading it to others is relatively low, it's important to remember that it can happen.

"Children spread germs faster than most people, but in this particular virus, that hasn't been the case," he said. "We try to say we want to respect everyone in our community, so people who are unvaccinated and may need that mask as a reassurance that they're doing everything they can to protect themselves."

And what about that potentially difficult situation when a vaccinated parent or other family member is able to go without a mask in public, but their children cannot?

"You try as best as you can, parent and child, to wear the mask so that we don't single out the child as the only one who has to wear the mask, because they may not quite understand that," he said.

That's something that Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein agrees with.

"A mask is protective, and if the kids have to mask, as a parent, as a pediatrician, I encourage parents to mask as being good role models for their kids when they're out in public," she said.

Burstein is hopeful this could be a short-term issue as we await the results of vaccine trials in children younger than 12.

"And we'll be able to get even more kids vaccinated, so hopefully this is a temporary situation," she said. 

And there are times when kids and adults alike will still have to wear a mask, like when they're in school.