Livingston Emergency Management Donates Masks To Local Schools

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston Office of Emergency Management distributed protective masks to all public and private schools throughout the Township of Livingston recently.

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The masks were meant to be a "backup supply" to the current stock that schools have on hand to protect from the Covid-19 pandemic. As of Thursday, 767,000 Americans have died of COVID in 20 months. Others have suffered long-term effects.

Masks are several protective measures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and work by blocking droplets that spread the virus, which can travel for 6 feet, doctors say. Here are some answers from the American Academy of Pediatrics to common questions about kids and mask-wearing.

The protective masks were provided by the Essex County Office of Emergency Management for distribution to all school districts throughout Essex County.

Vaccination Spots

Families in both Livingston and Maplewood are eligible to take advantage of a new COVID-19 vaccination clinic that's running just this week by St. Barnabas/Robert Wood Johnson and the Millburn schools. Find out about that clinic here. Essex County is also providing its own vaccine clinics for children. Find out more about the other clinics here.

Find out more about that here.

Three weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control recommended that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer pediatric vaccine. (Check with your doctor first if your children have special health concerns).

While the majority of children have recovered from COVID, the CDC noted that they can pass it along to their caregivers. The agency estimates that 140,000 American children have lost a caregiver to COVID "who provided the child's home and basic needs, including love, security, and daily care."

The CDC notes that "Although children are at a lower risk of becoming severely ill with
COVID-19 compared with adults," they can also suffer long-term effects. (You can read more about the pediatric trials and vaccines here.)

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