When should DC drop its school mask mandate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My post about DC being more radical about masking kids even more than most liberal places like Seattle got deleted TWICE: yesterday and just now. Do I understand correctly the forum admin eventually cleans up discussions insisting that kids mask should go?

This is why there’s a Website Feedback forum. If your hypothesis was correct explain how this thread is now what, 23 pages long?

Because most of the replies here imply that DC parents will patiently wait and not make trouble no matter how many decades their kids wear masks to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My post about DC being more radical about masking kids even more than most liberal places like Seattle got deleted TWICE: yesterday and just now. Do I understand correctly the forum admin eventually cleans up discussions insisting that kids mask should go?

This is why there’s a Website Feedback forum. If your hypothesis was correct explain how this thread is now what, 23 pages long?

Because most of the replies here imply that DC parents will patiently wait and not make trouble no matter how many decades their kids wear masks to school?

Most or all? Your post probably got deleted because it’s about Seattle and this is a DC Forum, or because there’s already a masking thread. We don’t need multiple threads whining about the same thing. Now go off to website feedback and post there asking why your threads get deleted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My post about DC being more radical about masking kids even more than most liberal places like Seattle got deleted TWICE: yesterday and just now. Do I understand correctly the forum admin eventually cleans up discussions insisting that kids mask should go?

This is why there’s a Website Feedback forum. If your hypothesis was correct explain how this thread is now what, 23 pages long?

Because most of the replies here imply that DC parents will patiently wait and not make trouble no matter how many decades their kids wear masks to school?

Most or all? Your post probably got deleted because it’s about Seattle and this is a DC Forum, or because there’s already a masking thread. We don’t need multiple threads whining about the same thing. Now go off to website feedback and post there asking why your threads get deleted.

For the third time - my post was NOT about Seattle, it was how Washington DC[u] ended up being more neglectful to kids than ultra lib metropolitan areas LIKE Seattle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why it matters. None of us are keeping our kids home because of this.

If it’s another month or September does it really matter?

My kids cry about wearing a mask. I have never seen one kid of our 400 plus ES cry about wearing a mask. Do your kids cry about wearing pants or shoes? We make them do that and they survive and thrive.

It does feel like we are getting out of this but hastiness isn’t going to win this race.

What makes you think DCPS will unmask children in September if they aren't able to do it now? Right now we have all the data we need to prove that

(a) masking in schools is not effective - it didn't stop Omicron and pretty much across the country infection rates were the same regardless of mask policies
(b) Omicron - the version of COVID circulating right now is the equivalent of a cold for most children; even unvaccinated children have equivalent outcomes to the flu [which has no school interventions]
(c) overall hospitalization rate is at an all time low
(c) students are suffering - they are increasingly disaffected and not forming relationships in the school community that are associated with long term positive outcomes
(d) school age children over the age of 5 have ample access to vaccines

Now is the right time to do this, not 6 months from now.

I don't disagree with anything above - but I think people are not giving enough thought to peer pressure. Every other state/liberal municipality is either dropping or will drop in school mandates soon. DC will not remain the outlier in the entire US. The entire masking phenomenon in the US has been a farce . . . and that truth is slowly coming out (i.e., equivalent rates of covid infections everywhere, regardless of mask mandates). I do tend to think "good" masks make a difference (and afford one way protection, so you can mind your own business and not worry about what everyone else is doing) . . . but I have to check myself somewhat in that belief given that Germany mandated KN95 equivalents - yet still experienced a huge surge. So - who knows? But what we do know, is that school masking, as in effect now, is a joke. And if KN95s would work much better - well, at that point you can one way mask, so stop with the mandate nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Looks like it’s not happening.

https://twitter.com/gelman_scott/status/1494709835014844416?s=21

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My post about DC being more radical about masking kids even more than most liberal places like Seattle got deleted TWICE: yesterday and just now. Do I understand correctly the forum admin eventually cleans up discussions insisting that kids mask should go?

This is why there’s a Website Feedback forum. If your hypothesis was correct explain how this thread is now what, 23 pages long?

Because most of the replies here imply that DC parents will patiently wait and not make trouble no matter how many decades their kids wear masks to school?

Most or all? Your post probably got deleted because it’s about Seattle and this is a DC Forum, or because there’s already a masking thread. We don’t need multiple threads whining about the same thing. Now go off to website feedback and post there asking why your threads get deleted.

For the third time - my post was NOT about Seattle, it was how Washington DC[u] ended up being more neglectful to kids than ultra lib metropolitan areas LIKE Seattle.

Well then it was another mask thread and miraculously you found it and can post on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why it matters. None of us are keeping our kids home because of this.

If it’s another month or September does it really matter?

My kids cry about wearing a mask. I have never seen one kid of our 400 plus ES cry about wearing a mask. Do your kids cry about wearing pants or shoes? We make them do that and they survive and thrive.

It does feel like we are getting out of this but hastiness isn’t going to win this race.

What makes you think DCPS will unmask children in September if they aren't able to do it now? Right now we have all the data we need to prove that

(a) masking in schools is not effective - it didn't stop Omicron and pretty much across the country infection rates were the same regardless of mask policies
(b) Omicron - the version of COVID circulating right now is the equivalent of a cold for most children; even unvaccinated children have equivalent outcomes to the flu [which has no school interventions]
(c) overall hospitalization rate is at an all time low
(c) students are suffering - they are increasingly disaffected and not forming relationships in the school community that are associated with long term positive outcomes
(d) school age children over the age of 5 have ample access to vaccines

Now is the right time to do this, not 6 months from now.

A - there is a lot of science to wearing masks. Slowing any spread even w omnicron is key to keeping schools open
B- omnicron is dead in DC please look at the pos rate in DC. And compare it to unmasked places
C - yes happy hospitalization rate is low, see answer B
D - students are suffering, really? Your child can’t adapt to a situation based on a global pandemic. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have an end date based on all the good stuff w have in DC - low positive rate and super high vaccine rate. But after a year of wearing a mask your child is still suffering? You should look into that.
E - ES schools have kids who can’t be vaccinated and for that reason alone I think ES should keep masks in place. Makes sense to remove it for vaccinated MS and HS students buuuut how would one enforce that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why it matters. None of us are keeping our kids home because of this.

If it’s another month or September does it really matter?

My kids cry about wearing a mask. I have never seen one kid of our 400 plus ES cry about wearing a mask. Do your kids cry about wearing pants or shoes? We make them do that and they survive and thrive.

It does feel like we are getting out of this but hastiness isn’t going to win this race.

What makes you think DCPS will unmask children in September if they aren't able to do it now? Right now we have all the data we need to prove that

(a) masking in schools is not effective - it didn't stop Omicron and pretty much across the country infection rates were the same regardless of mask policies
(b) Omicron - the version of COVID circulating right now is the equivalent of a cold for most children; even unvaccinated children have equivalent outcomes to the flu [which has no school interventions]
(c) overall hospitalization rate is at an all time low
(c) students are suffering - they are increasingly disaffected and not forming relationships in the school community that are associated with long term positive outcomes
(d) school age children over the age of 5 have ample access to vaccines

Now is the right time to do this, not 6 months from now.

A - there is a lot of science to wearing masks. Slowing any spread even w omnicron is key to keeping schools open
B- omnicron is dead in DC please look at the pos rate in DC. And compare it to unmasked places
C - yes happy hospitalization rate is low, see answer B
D - students are suffering, really? Your child can’t adapt to a situation based on a global pandemic. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have an end date based on all the good stuff w have in DC - low positive rate and super high vaccine rate. But after a year of wearing a mask your child is still suffering? You should look into that.
E - ES schools have kids who can’t be vaccinated and for that reason alone I think ES should keep masks in place. Makes sense to remove it for vaccinated MS and HS students buuuut how would one enforce that?

NP. It is this sort of poorly informed, ideologically guided thinking that will keep the masks in place in a city like DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
A - there is a lot of science to wearing masks. Slowing any spread even w omnicron is key to keeping schools open?

I agree, the CDC just published a study and that demonstrates that cloth masks have no statistical difference to no mask.

Wearing a cloth mask (aOR = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.17–1.17) was associated with lower adjusted odds of a positive test compared with never wearing a face covering but was not statistically significant.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7106e1.htm?s_cid=mm7106e1_w

[Anonymous]

DCPS has not even adopted the CDC recommendation to change to 5 day isolation and quarantine. There is no way DCPS is going to make masks optional anytime soon.
I don’t think they are affected by peer pressure. Where else have children been mandated to wear masks outdoors?
DCPS has somehow gotten away being more restrictive than CDC and AAP guidance.
Parents have put up with it because it’s a hell of a lot better than last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS has not even adopted the CDC recommendation to change to 5 day isolation and quarantine. There is no way DCPS is going to make masks optional anytime soon.
I don’t think they are affected by peer pressure. Where else have children been mandated to wear masks outdoors?
DCPS has somehow gotten away being more restrictive than CDC and AAP guidance.
Parents have put up with it because it’s a hell of a lot better than last year.

In California! Incidentally, it's also a place that closed schools longer than everybody else.

[Anonymous]

Do the community based daycares and private options follow the same rules as DCPS?

[Anonymous]

I was shopping for booster seats this morning and had an epiphany related to masking in schools.

The best-in-class, safest high back booster seat on the market costs $400 and a steel frame. It weighs a ton and can a beast to install and use, BUT if done properly, it has a near perfect crash test rating (a 9/10).

I know a bunch of rich parents who could easily afford this seat. They all care deeply about their kids and are generally pretty cautious. And I don’t know anyone with this booster. Why? Because not only is it the most expensive, it’s also hard to I stall and use, and hard to move into a different car. It’s less convenient. And you also only get the added safety from it if it’s perfectly installed and used, and what if you make a mistake? Most people use boosters that cost half that (or less), are easy to use and move around, while still providing good safety (say a 7/10, or even an 8/10 for done models). The added safety is not worth the costs in other ways.

And that’s how I think about Covid measures. If ALL we care about is protecting kids from Covid, then we should mandate K95s for all people, require daily testing, and close schools when ever cases go up. But it’s not all we care about, nor should it be. As in every other decision parents make, we have to weigh priorities and practical concerns like costs and convenience. Doing so doesn’t mean we don’t care about kids or safety. It means we are using our judgment to balance factors. We do this all the time. Why is Covid any different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS has not even adopted the CDC recommendation to change to 5 day isolation and quarantine. There is no way DCPS is going to make masks optional anytime soon.
I don’t think they are affected by peer pressure. Where else have children been mandated to wear masks outdoors?
DCPS has somehow gotten away being more restrictive than CDC and AAP guidance.
Parents have put up with it because it’s a hell of a lot better than last year.

In California! Incidentally, it's also a place that closed schools longer than everybody else.

And California just lifted outdoor kids masking rule. Come on DC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was shopping for booster seats this morning and had an epiphany related to masking in schools.

The best-in-class, safest high back booster seat on the market costs $400 and a steel frame. It weighs a ton and can a beast to install and use, BUT if done properly, it has a near perfect crash test rating (a 9/10).

I know a bunch of rich parents who could easily afford this seat. They all care deeply about their kids and are generally pretty cautious. And I don’t know anyone with this booster. Why? Because not only is it the most expensive, it’s also hard to I stall and use, and hard to move into a different car. It’s less convenient. And you also only get the added safety from it if it’s perfectly installed and used, and what if you make a mistake? Most people use boosters that cost half that (or less), are easy to use and move around, while still providing good safety (say a 7/10, or even an 8/10 for done models). The added safety is not worth the costs in other ways.

And that’s how I think about Covid measures. If ALL we care about is protecting kids from Covid, then we should mandate K95s for all people, require daily testing, and close schools when ever cases go up. But it’s not all we care about, nor should it be. As in every other decision parents make, we have to weigh priorities and practical concerns like costs and convenience. Doing so doesn’t mean we don’t care about kids or safety. It means we are using our judgment to balance factors. We do this all the time. Why is Covid any different?

It's different because public health officials have scared the sh$t out of people for the past two years, have worked hard to give the impression that everyone, including kids, is at grave risk from this virus (instead of acknowledging the enormous age gradient of this particular virus) in order to generate compliance and support for NPIs, and it's very hard to un-scare people once you have created this kind of mass hysteria.

Secondly, it is different because this country doesn't really have a plan for transitioning to endemicity, and when to stop treating this virus completely differently from other viruses and from how it needed to be treated in 2020. A lot of parents want mask mandates to stay in place because they believe that they help prevent some of the spread, and they are worried that if cases spike too much, schools will be closed again, or asymptomatic kids will have to miss school for ten days. As long as these policies are in place, masks seem like a sensible precaution even to those who aren't afraid of Covid but do believe in their effectiveness. I personally question how much they actually do, but I do agree that our whole approach to this virus should ideally change along with the mask policy.