When should DC drop its school mask mandate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing the mayor / DOH / OSSE / skittish LEA leaders are going to do here is drag out making changes to school masking policies based on case rates ("high" vs "substantial", "moderate" and "low"). But these thresholds as defined by the CDC are totally irrelevant because of vaccine effectiveness and given that Omicron has a different infection and disease profile.

Like, compare the insane Omicron case spike:
https://coronavirus.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/coronavirus/page_content/images/WeeklyCaseRateDash020922.jpg

To the hospitalization figures:
https://coronavirus.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/coronavirus/page_content/images/PercentHospofCases020922.jpg

The link between cases (+current case thresholds) and hospitalization is now totally broken; It is going to be total BS when Bowser et al. leaders start slinging BS about substantial transmission.

Wow, that data for Dec. - Feb., Omicron is something very different.

And the city case data is a pretty significant under representation of actual cases given that so many were caught with at home tests and not reported.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:February 28th, as soon as Bowser drops indoor mandate for DC, schools should follow suit immediately!

Do most people think it won’t be extended beyond the 28th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 28th, as soon as Bowser drops indoor mandate for DC, schools should follow suit immediately!

Do most people think it won’t be extended beyond the 28th?

I agree 2/28 because we have such a high vaccination rate and low number of new cases. We also have a very high percentage of kids vax at our school.

But I don’t think the mask mandate will be dropped at schools until the 3-4 year olds in ECE have access to vaccines, at least in elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 28th, as soon as Bowser drops indoor mandate for DC, schools should follow suit immediately!

Do most people think it won’t be extended beyond the 28th?

I agree 2/28 because we have such a high vaccination rate and low number of new cases. We also have a very high percentage of kids vax at our school.

But I don’t think the mask mandate will be dropped at schools until the 3-4 year olds in ECE have access to vaccines, at least in elementary.

Well that has been pushed back 2 months. Probably best, I don't see the advocacy of a 2-year-old vaccine that does not stop transmission, in a population that has a lower chance of being hospitalized as compared to the actual flu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 28th, as soon as Bowser drops indoor mandate for DC, schools should follow suit immediately!

Do most people think it won’t be extended beyond the 28th?

I agree 2/28 because we have such a high vaccination rate and low number of new cases. We also have a very high percentage of kids vax at our school.

But I don’t think the mask mandate will be dropped at schools until the 3-4 year olds in ECE have access to vaccines, at least in elementary.

Well that has been pushed back 2 months. Probably best, I don't see the advocacy of a 2-year-old vaccine that does not stop transmission, in a population that has a lower chance of being hospitalized as compared to the actual flu.

But this is also precisely why basing the mask decision on access to vaccines for this group is frustrating.

I've reached a point of acceptance that my now-4yo will need to be vaccinated before he can stop wearing a mask to school. But it feels like a frustrating merry-go-round of facts that for some reason always add up to a crappy experience for him:

(1) He's at very low risk for Covid in general because of his age,

(2) But he can still transmit it, so we need masks,

(3) But mask-wearing for this age-group is not super effective because they have to take it off for multiple meals a day plus rest time (so removing at least 4 times a day, adding up to over 2 hours of the day), and also because 4yos (and 3yos, and 5 yos) are not great at wearing masks, plus they are almost all just wearing cloth or surgical masks, which aren't very effective over a full school day,

(4) And also masks seem especially bad over the longterm for this age group, because they are still in basic language development mode, and pre-literacy, plus are supposed to be gaining important socialization that might be inhibited by masks over a period of years instead of months, as we originally hoped it would be,

(4) So they need to get vaccinated, except the vaccine doesn't work for the 3- and 4yos, so it hasn't been approved,

(5) But now they might try to approve it anyway even though it doesn't work? So I guess we'll give these tiny kids vaccines that don't work so we can all feel better for some reason?

It's like a logic puzzle you can't logic your way out of. I would LOVE for my kid to be able to drop the mask at school because we are hitting a point where I'm genuinely worried about the impact on his learning and socialization, and I'm happy to vaccinate him if we had a vaccine that worked, and yet it feels like none of that is possible because reasons, and yet I find myself reminding myself that he's at very low risk from Covid to begin with. See? Impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:February 28th, as soon as Bowser drops indoor mandate for DC, schools should follow suit immediately!

Do most people think it won’t be extended beyond the 28th?

I agree 2/28 because we have such a high vaccination rate and low number of new cases. We also have a very high percentage of kids vax at our school.

But I don’t think the mask mandate will be dropped at schools until the 3-4 year olds in ECE have access to vaccines, at least in elementary.

Well that has been pushed back 2 months. Probably best, I don't see the advocacy of a 2-year-old vaccine that does not stop transmission, in a population that has a lower chance of being hospitalized as compared to the actual flu.

But this is also precisely why basing the mask decision on access to vaccines for this group is frustrating.

I've reached a point of acceptance that my now-4yo will need to be vaccinated before he can stop wearing a mask to school. But it feels like a frustrating merry-go-round of facts that for some reason always add up to a crappy experience for him:

(1) He's at very low risk for Covid in general because of his age,

(2) But he can still transmit it, so we need masks,

(3) But mask-wearing for this age-group is not super effective because they have to take it off for multiple meals a day plus rest time (so removing at least 4 times a day, adding up to over 2 hours of the day), and also because 4yos (and 3yos, and 5 yos) are not great at wearing masks, plus they are almost all just wearing cloth or surgical masks, which aren't very effective over a full school day,

(4) And also masks seem especially bad over the longterm for this age group, because they are still in basic language development mode, and pre-literacy, plus are supposed to be gaining important socialization that might be inhibited by masks over a period of years instead of months, as we originally hoped it would be,

(4) So they need to get vaccinated, except the vaccine doesn't work for the 3- and 4yos, so it hasn't been approved,

(5) But now they might try to approve it anyway even though it doesn't work? So I guess we'll give these tiny kids vaccines that don't work so we can all feel better for some reason?

It's like a logic puzzle you can't logic your way out of. I would LOVE for my kid to be able to drop the mask at school because we are hitting a point where I'm genuinely worried about the impact on his learning and socialization, and I'm happy to vaccinate him if we had a vaccine that worked, and yet it feels like none of that is possible because reasons, and yet I find myself reminding myself that he's at very low risk from Covid to begin with. See? Impossible.

This is absolutely what this is about, and why someone at the FDA thought we should rush the approval (on which the brake was then pulled), and why the removal of masks is linked to the availability of vaccines for the under-5 year olds. It is 100% about parent (and maybe teacher) psychology and feelings and not about data or the actual risks to these kids.

[Anonymous]

What if we kept out all of the people on both sides of the Left and Right who were insane about masks and vaccinations and only let people attend public school who didn’t try and treat other people poorly for their choices 🤔🤔🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if we kept out all of the people on both sides of the Left and Right who were insane about masks and vaccinations and only let people attend public school who didn’t try and treat other people poorly for their choices 🤔🤔🤔

I consider myself firmly in the middle (probably the alt-middle as Zubin Damania would say), and I don't think any of the people who want the mask mandates in schools dropped want to deprive anyone else of their right to send their kid in a mask... or, for that matter, does anyone want to prevent anyone else from vaccinating their kids. The reason people are angry at those they perceive as excessively cautious is that the precautions those people want to keep up are being forced on everybody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if we kept out all of the people on both sides of the Left and Right who were insane about masks and vaccinations and only let people attend public school who didn’t try and treat other people poorly for their choices 🤔🤔🤔

I consider myself firmly in the middle (probably the alt-middle as Zubin Damania would say), and I don't think any of the people who want the mask mandates in schools dropped want to deprive anyone else of their right to send their kid in a mask... or, for that matter, does anyone want to prevent anyone else from vaccinating their kids. The reason people are angry at those they perceive as excessively cautious is that the precautions those people want to keep up are being forced on everybody.

Yes drop the mask mandate and those families that want their kid to still wear a mask, fine. No one is stopping them.

But it’s ridiculous that Covid in unvaccinated children is similar to flu and those vaccinated risk is even lower. Covid is here to stay, becoming endemic, and people need to stop letting fear dictate rather than data.

What’s more important now in 2022 is focusing on the mental health, socioemotiinal needs, and learning loss in kids not Covid.

[Anonymous]

I still think it is too early to drop the mask mandate, especially in ES. We should keep it until the end of the school year. Maybe they could drop it for outside events like recess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still think it is too early to drop the mask mandate, especially in ES. We should keep it until the end of the school year. Maybe they could drop it for outside events like recess.

Why especially in elementary school? Those kids are at lower risk than teenagers, and all mandatory grades can be vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if we kept out all of the people on both sides of the Left and Right who were insane about masks and vaccinations and only let people attend public school who didn’t try and treat other people poorly for their choices 🤔🤔🤔

I consider myself firmly in the middle (probably the alt-middle as Zubin Damania would say), and I don't think any of the people who want the mask mandates in schools dropped want to deprive anyone else of their right to send their kid in a mask... or, for that matter, does anyone want to prevent anyone else from vaccinating their kids. The reason people are angry at those they perceive as excessively cautious is that the precautions those people want to keep up are being forced on everybody.

Yes drop the mask mandate and those families that want their kid to still wear a mask, fine. No one is stopping them.

But it’s ridiculous that Covid in unvaccinated children is similar to flu and those vaccinated risk is even lower. Covid is here to stay, becoming endemic, and people need to stop letting fear dictate rather than data.

What’s more important now in 2022 is focusing on the mental health, socioemotiinal needs, and learning loss in kids not Covid.

I completely agree with you. I think the PP is spinning a false narrative by suggesting that both sides are equally culpable for treating others poorly for their choices. The reality is that one side wants choice and the other doesn't. Of course the pro-mandate side will argue that they have reason to be angry at the pro-choice side as well because they feel they are being endangered, but there really is no data to support that if you put the risks in perspective.

[Anonymous]

Watching the Superbowl, seeing the players, the crowd, these older and less than fit halftime performers, all without a mask; yet, my child will have to wear one tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still think it is too early to drop the mask mandate, especially in ES. We should keep it until the end of the school year. Maybe they could drop it for outside events like recess.

Based on what facts?

Let’s just admit that wanting to keep ineffective masks on kids is about feelings, not facts. It’s about “feeling” safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still think it is too early to drop the mask mandate, especially in ES. We should keep it until the end of the school year. Maybe they could drop it for outside events like recess.

Based on what facts?

Let’s just admit that wanting to keep ineffective masks on kids is about feelings, not facts. It’s about “feeling” safe.

+1000

Fear (feelings) is a huge factor, currently science tells a very different story (low hospitalization rates based on Covid without additional comorbidities is 5.6% which is near minimal on the DC Covid Metrics website). Unless you are high risk, symptoms are “typically” no worse than the flu. Society does not take drastic measures for that and the flu vaccine is optional.