How many schools still have indoor mask requirements?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/live/covid-philadelphia-mask-restrictions-pa-nj-de-cases-20220411.html

It’s happening again.

I do worry that DC will be next in defying CDC guidance again.

It sure would be cruel to take away the kids’ newfound freedom just as they are getting used to it…

Considering that DC is approaching the yellow zone on the NEW adjusted CDC map, it’s not so much taking something away from kids as much as it is we’re in a literal pandemic, did you not get the memo? This is the inevitable outcome of removing masks when there is substantial community transmission of a highly contagious, airborne virus.

Did you not get the more recent memo that this pandemic won’t end until we decide it does? It is impossible to control a highly contagious, airborne virus. Not even truly authoritarian public health policies such as China’s could do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/live/covid-philadelphia-mask-restrictions-pa-nj-de-cases-20220411.html

It’s happening again.

I do worry that DC will be next in defying CDC guidance again.

It sure would be cruel to take away the kids’ newfound freedom just as they are getting used to it…

Considering that DC is approaching the yellow zone on the NEW adjusted CDC map, it’s not so much taking something away from kids as much as it is we’re in a literal pandemic, did you not get the memo? This is the inevitable outcome of removing masks when there is substantial community transmission of a highly contagious, airborne virus.

Did you not get the more recent memo that this pandemic won’t end until we decide it does? It is impossible to control a highly contagious, airborne virus. Not even truly authoritarian public health policies such as China’s could do it.

Probably we should kill all of our pets if we are actually serious about getting rid of covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

The study you quoted is a very small observational study from 2020 and not “high quality” at all. The highest quality study we have on mask mandates in schools is the recent one from Spain, which included thousands of children and showed exactly the opposite of what you are claiming is the case - namely that spread among the older, masked children was higher than among the younger, unmasked kids.

Your 2020 Belgian study has not even convinced the Belgian public health authorities, who have now gone further than just making masks in schools optional: they are requiring parents who want to continue masking their kids to provide a doctor’s note that it’s necessary, because they consider masking detrimental to children’s learning and mental health. Imagine that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

Let’s highlight this ridiculous sentence as incontrovertible proof of your scientific illiteracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

Just because no kids in dc have died does not mean no kids have died. And its not just about kids dying. How many kids lost their parents! How many of those kids brought home Covid to their parents that killed them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

Just because no kids in dc have died does not mean no kids have died. And its not just about kids dying. How many kids lost their parents! How many of those kids brought home Covid to their parents that killed them?

NP. If that happened, it is obviously tragic. However, it is not an argument for mask mandates in schools at this point of our life with the virus. Parents should get vaccinated, and if they do, their risk will be extremely low. If they are still at high risk due to severe comorbidities, their kids should wear a high quality mask. A mandate on all children will add marginal benefit at best, and is not sustainable in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

Just because no kids in dc have died does not mean no kids have died. And its not just about kids dying. How many kids lost their parents! How many of those kids brought home Covid to their parents that killed them?

Hey crazy, everyone will be exposed to covid numerous times. It’s a highly contagious respiratory disease. It can’t be eliminated. We’d have to go as far as killing animals. Or have a vaccine that prevents transmission entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

Just because no kids in dc have died does not mean no kids have died. And its not just about kids dying. How many kids lost their parents! How many of those kids brought home Covid to their parents that killed them?

Look, the previous poster wrote that the risk of hospitalization and death is much higher than other illnesses. This is categorically false. Not true. Opposite of true. How many ways can this be said and proven before the fear mongering stops? Maybe the purpose of maintaining such fear to manipulate the vaccine hesitant to get their vaccines so their babies don't die. No wonder there is distrust of govt messaging. Can we stop with the lies already?

We are in a different phase. We have more information and we have mitigation effective methods that protect and treat adults as well as free testing, free vaccines, free masks for the immune compromised. Look Pelosi and 60+ people in her peer group just contracted Covid. No one is freaking out that there will be mass deaths because we have vaccines and effective treatment protocols. We've taken a few steps forward since 2020.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

This has got to be a joke. Look at DC Covid data and check out how many children aged 0-19 died of Covid in DC, across all wards, races, and socioeconomic classes. ZERO! Kids are at the lowest risk of hospitalization and death. Also check out the moderna vaccine study of 6700 kids. None (including on control) got seriously ill or required hospitalization. Our schools are safe from Covid but in danger from Covid zero people. It is endemic folks. Unless the whole world quarantines together for a few weeks, this bug isnt disappearing, but it also isn't as deadly given the safeguards we have available now. For adults, we have vaccines, free tests galore, free masks, hospital bed availability, and effective treatment protocols.

Just because no kids in dc have died does not mean no kids have died. And its not just about kids dying. How many kids lost their parents! How many of those kids brought home Covid to their parents that killed them?

Look, the previous poster wrote that the risk of hospitalization and death is much higher than other illnesses. This is categorically false. Not true. Opposite of true. How many ways can this be said and proven before the fear mongering stops? Maybe the purpose of maintaining such fear to manipulate the vaccine hesitant to get their vaccines so their babies don't die. No wonder there is distrust of govt messaging. Can we stop with the lies already?

We are in a different phase. We have more information and we have mitigation effective methods that protect and treat adults as well as free testing, free vaccines, free masks for the immune compromised. Look Pelosi and 60+ people in her peer group just contracted Covid. No one is freaking out that there will be mass deaths because we have vaccines and effective treatment protocols. We've taken a few steps forward since 2020.

It’s because the liberal progressive crowd takes a completely paternalistic view towards everything. It’s all about protecting the community for them. You know what? Most people are done taking precautions to protect people who refuse to do basic stuff like going to get vaccinated. And spare us all the bullshit about equity and access - DC Government has and still makes it unbelievably easy for anyone to get vaccinated. Do not make my kid wear a mask to protect people who could give a shit about them by not making responsible choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who think kids should continue to mask because that *feels* safer, despite contradicting all the advice from experts, are not really any different from all those people in Florida who refused to ever wear masks because freedom.

Either way, personal are substituting their own feelings for sound medical advice.

Yep. Just as embarrassing and anti-science.

Oh FFS. You have no clue what the actual, applicable data says. Many, many leading experts have criticized the CDC and its guidance, and recommended continued masking:

Dr. Peter Hotez, Texas Children's Hospital, Director of Center for Vaccine Development, creator of patent-free covid vaccine

Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th US Surgeon General

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina, formerly of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, now Chief Science Officer of eMed.

Dr. Gregg Gonsalves, PhD, professor of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases)

Dr. Mark Kline, Physician in Chief, Children's Hospital of New Orleans

Dr. David Gorski, surgeon, editor of Science-Based Medicine

Dr Ellie Murray, epidemiology assistant professor, Boston University

Dr. Kimberly Prather, Director of Center for Aerosol Impacts

Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemistry professor, leading expert in aerosols, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder

Oni Blackstock, pcp/HIV physician, Founder/Exec. Director, HealthJustice

Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Texas A&M University, chief virologist at its Global Health Research Complex

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, GWU

Anne Sosin, Policy Fellow, Global health & rural health equity, Dartmouth College

Mindy Fullilove, MD, The New School

Josh Garoon, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Elaine A. Hills, PhD, Public Health Scientist

Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH, California Physicians Alliance

Dannie Ritchie, MD, MPH, Brown University, Community Health Innovations of Rhode Island

Kaliris Y. Salas-Ramirez, PhD, The City College of New York

Sam Friedman, PhD, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Robert G. Wallace, PhD, Pandemic Research for the People

Edgar Rivera Colon, PhD, USC Keck School of Medicine

Even the American Medical Association said the new isolation quarantine guidance was confusing and risked further spreading covid, and just last month urged continued masking.

You are welcome to listen to these people and continue to mask so you can protect yourself. I will continue to not mask since I am vaccinated and just had COVID. I think it's insane that my vaccinated kid who also just had covid has to mask at school. No one is trying to stop people from masking, but may of us want the option to remove them because we feel like there is enough evidence to support it. Our charter will be the last place in America to drop masks.

When your child had covid, they easily could have spread it to other kids. Saying you are vaccinated helps with your child health, not others. Clearly being vaccinated alone isn't enough or your child would not have gotten covid.

But study after study shows that kids don’t really transit the virus at school. It’s possible but rare. There comes a point when the costs of masking to young children outweigh the benefits, particularly when kids are at extremely low risk for hospitalization and death from covid, even unvaccinated. Add to that that many kids can be vaccinated, and high risk kids can wear a kn95.

I can cite article after article detailing that students do in fact spread the virus at school — and while several aerosol studies have shown children transmit at a smaller incidence rate than adults, studies about transmission in schools have documented (1) it does occur and (2) transmission among children is significantly higher when unmasked. This high quality study included children who were unmasked, and found no difference between adult/children transmission; further, most of the transmission happened in schools. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784812

In other words — you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want to claim covid is spread less so than in the general community, then in that same breath you must credit masking. Yes, other countries have students unmasked, blah blah blah, yeah — but they have invested more heavily in testing, filtration and ventilation, whereas we’ve just given up.

Regarding these theoretical downsides to masking vs. the known risks of unfettered spread — the risk to children of hospitalization or death is far greater than other illnesses we take great effort to prevent. That line of thinking is a shimmy and a jump away from full-on anti-vax, congrats. More importantly, there are no therapeutics available for at-risk children under 12, and children under 5 still cannot be vaccinated. Until everyone has access to protection, it screams privilege to demand that everyone live their lives when many cannot. Schools must remain safe so that all students, not just the privileged ones, can attend. If N95s weren’t enough to protect the thousands of medical professionals who got sick while wearing PPE, I’m puzzled why you think K95s, which are not regulated because they’re not an OSHA certified work safety product, will protect high-risk children — especially when they’re still having maskless lunch indoors.

The study you quoted is a very small observational study from 2020 and not “high quality” at all. The highest quality study we have on mask mandates in schools is the recent one from Spain, which included thousands of children and showed exactly the opposite of what you are claiming is the case - namely that spread among the older, masked children was higher than among the younger, unmasked kids.

Your 2020 Belgian study has not even convinced the Belgian public health authorities, who have now gone further than just making masks in schools optional: they are requiring parents who want to continue masking their kids to provide a doctor’s note that it’s necessary, because they consider masking detrimental to children’s learning and mental health. Imagine that.

And now we have another study, this time from Finland, which showed no impact of face masks on Covid incidence in schools among 10-12 year-olds:

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.04.22272833v1

Here is an expert commentary explaining why this study is as high quality as it gets, short of a RCT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb-DECv1spg