Masks optional by spring break

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

Appreciate the irony of it being a zoom a presentation?! Why didn't you guys all meet in person and breathe on each other?!

Because they’re fringing hypocrites. Surprise, surprise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

Yes! To both of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

Science can be hard for the ideologically driven Democrats but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

For sure. The Democrats rejected science early on and have been riding that train for a while now while our kids suffer because of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

Science can be hard for the ideologically driven Democrats but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

For sure. The Democrats rejected science early on and have been riding that train for a while now while our kids suffer because of it.

Cute. And conservatives have been denying science since Copernicus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

Science can be hard for the ideologically driven Democrats but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

For sure. The Democrats rejected science early on and have been riding that train for a while now while our kids suffer because of it.

Cute. And conservatives have been denying science since Copernicus.

Science and using science to develop public policy are two different things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

Science can be hard for the ideologically driven Democrats but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

For sure. The Democrats rejected science early on and have been riding that train for a while now while our kids suffer because of it.

Cute. And conservatives have been denying science since Copernicus.

There is nothing "cute" about it. You know as well as I do that masking has turned into a political struggle and nothing more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming


Sorry, what are you seeing here that is not grounded in science?

The WaPo authors are: "Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician, is hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center and an associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. Westyn Branch-Elliman, also an infectious diseases physician, is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Elissa Perkins is an associate professor of emergency medicine and director of emergency medicine infectious disease management at Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine."

What are you hearing here that is selfish?

Personally I work at home and my high schoolers don't mind wearing masks. But when I weigh the pros and cons of policies that mandate keeping our county's 8-year-olds in masks throughout the school day -- after those kids have spent the better part of a year in masks, after a year of virtual, I think the negatives will outweigh the positives as soon as we're well past this current omicron surge. That's because the vast majority of individuals can prevent significant harm to themselves, and while masking may be only a minor hindrance at an individual level, when multiplied over the entire population of the 8-year-olds in the county, is costly to a population that can scarcely afford to bear additional costs.

Look: Covid causes illness and death and economic loss and much else. Vaccination does a great deal to mitigate these harms, but we are still left with some costs to bear, as a society, as a community. The question is, to what extent do we use public health policy to shift costs in order to achieve desired outcomes?

My view is, enough of shifting costs to kids -- unless it's an emergency and the benefits are obvious. But given our available supplies -- which do not include the possibility of making a steady supply of K95 masks available to the county's eight-year-olds -- the benefit does not seem clear-cut to me, based on the studies I've read. And the costs are borne principally by individuals who are unvaccinated, so let's focus on getting more shots in more arms, and leave the kids out of this round.

If you're aware of scientific studies or even strong voices in the public health community that support a different view, I am genuinely interested in hearing them.

Signed,

A Liz Warren (but I like Bernie, too) Left Coast Progressive

[Anonymous]

Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

No, it's not. It has nothing to do with "others." It's all about self-loathing and the desperate need not only to conform, but to publically demonstrate that one plays by arbitrary rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone looked at the Urgency of Normal website? They advocate for removing masks… We watched the Zoom presentation last night and some interesting points were made. There was a danish doc saying they never masked any kids under age 12 in her country. She also said in her line of work she’s been collecting data from neighboring school districts in the U.S., one with and one without a mask mandate. There were similar rates of covid reported within the schools.

I understand the need to keep vulnerable people safe… but if the kid masks are providing little to no protection… what’s the point? Esp for pre-K and early elementary school kids. I’m not anti-mask but I am pro-face.

+1. There is no point. It is pure virtue signaling.

This is unhelpful. I'm sure there's some asshat out there sending their kids to school in a mask in order to send a message to others about who and what they are -- i.e. virtue signalling or mere performance -- but for the most part people wear masks because they believe it keeps them and others safer.

Does it? And how much safer? These are open questions.

There are studies that suggest strongly that community masking reduces transmission rates. THere are studies that do not reach the same conclusion.

There are no randomized controlled studies on the efficacy of mandatory masking policies for schoolchildren with any-and-all-masks during an omicron surge. SO people are doing the best they can with imperfect and incomplete knowledge.

My own read is that masking policies do keep the community at-large safer -- but only incrementally so. Maybe 10% safer? (which makes the question 10% of what pretty important.) And it's unclear that masking specifically in schools is needed in order to achieve this kind of improvement -- it may well be that it is not.

Since the costs of masking policies are non-negligible to the community, masking should only be mandated when the benefits are clear and the need is urgent. And I also believe that we know well enough at this point that kids are not a primary driver of community spread; Covid rates are more likely to reflect community transmission rates than drive them.

So we should make masking voluntary ASAP.

My two cents.

Yes, especially now with plentiful supply of N95 and KN95 masks, those who wish to protect themselves can do so. Those who have had covid, are fully vaxed, etc., can choose to not mask if desired. This is the way it needs to be. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/

The responses are getting more embarrassing by the moment. I have to stop reading this. I'm losing faith in humanity.
Science can be hard for the intellectually challenged Republicans but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

Science can be hard for the ideologically driven Democrats but the selfishness that is emerging is overwhelming

For sure. The Democrats rejected science early on and have been riding that train for a while now while our kids suffer because of it.

Cute. And conservatives have been denying science since Copernicus.

There is nothing "cute" about it. You know as well as I do that masking has turned into a political struggle and nothing more.

The current Biden administration chose to double down on the political rhetoric and make it all about divisiveness. Biden had the chance to bring the country together. Instead of trying to unite the country, Biden and the media has focused on putting the blame on the ‘others’ - the unvaccinated.

Masking is just another part of that. If you support mask-choice, you’re automatically evil and selfish.

We need leadership that is willing to follow the science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

BS

I don’t need you to wear a mask to display your faux ‘courtesy’. I’m vaccinated and I wear my mask when I think it’s a good idea. I don’t give a rat’s a$$ what you put on your face.

Courtesy is holding the door for the person behind you, letting someone merge in front in traffic and most importantly, respecting other people’s wishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a reasonable goal given our vaccination rates, decline of omicron, success of mask optional schools in neighboring Virginia, announcement from the archdiocese of Arlington… there is so much data to support this too.

What do you think?

LOL you're so funneh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

Truth!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

BS

I don’t need you to wear a mask to display your faux ‘courtesy’. I’m vaccinated and I wear my mask when I think it’s a good idea. I don’t give a rat’s a$$ what you put on your face.

Courtesy is holding the door for the person behind you, letting someone merge in front in traffic and most importantly, respecting other people’s wishes.

Not only is it BS, imagine 'mandating courtesy'

Stores will be required to enforce that men hold let women enter first. It is now mandated by the county to sent thank you notes within 5 days of receipt of a gift.

If its just 'courtesy', then that's the best reason I've heard to eliminate the mandates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wearing masks is a courtesy to others.

Those that don't are just displaying their contempt for anyone but themselves.

That was true in 2020.

Things that have changed since 2020:
- We now have vaccines, which prevent the vast majority of serious harm
- We now have strong evidence that cloth masks and regular surgical masks don't do much to prevent spreading omicron
- We now have widespread testing available, with rapid tests becoming more available by the day

There's more, but that seems sufficient to overcome your outdated presumption of "contempt for others." Hardly.

We also no longer focus on hand-washing or social distancing or wiping down surfaces. Know why? They don't do much to prevent serious harm.

Reasons people don't wear masks (especially N95's)
- they're expensive
- they're a child, and finding well-fitting N95s, KN95s, or KF94s can be challenging -- and if they don't fit well, they're not effective
- they're less comfortable than not wearing a mask. some people get rashes and acne and just don't like them
- they're outside or in a well-ventilated space
- community spread is low
- they are vaccinated and have reason to believe that the people around them are also vaccinated

Covid-conservatives should congratulate themselves on keeping themselves and others safe throughout 2020 and 2021. Seriously: thank you.

And, while we may again need mandatory masking policies, at this point, it looks like we won't be needing them any more in schools this year.