WATCH: White House Still Wants Kids in Masks at Schools

A senior adviser on the White House’s COVID-19 response team still wants kids in schools to wear masks.

“You should be wearing a mask that’s the best mask possible,” Tom Inglesby told CNN on Wednesday when asked about masking schoolchildren. “We know cloth masks are better than no masks. Surgical masks are better than cloth masks. So whatever mask is available and fits well for kids should be used, according to CDC guidance.”

The CDC has promoted some of the most aggressive masking measures for children of any world public health body. Its guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools encourages universal indoor masking for all children ages two and older. Between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of children infected with COVID are hospitalized.

The World Health Organization does not recommend masks for children younger than six years old. And the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommends against masking any children in primary school.

The CDC is expected to update its mask guidance next week.

The Biden administration hired Inglesby in December as a senior adviser for COVID-19 testing. He was formerly the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. A study published last week by the university showed that spring 2020 lockdowns only reduced COVID-19 deaths by 0.2 percent in the United States and Europe.