Press
“Children are treated as if they are horrible spreaders, and they are the ones who must continue to mask as if they are a threat to everyone around them,” even as adults are allowed to unmask, said Holland. “As some of my colleagues have said, the impact on the mental, social, emotional, and behavioral health of our children can’t be measured by a PCR [test],” said Holland. “We are so laser-focused on the burden of disease, but the burden of the mitigation measures is high.”
Student Masking Now Up to Parents
– The Crozet Gazette | By Lisa Martin | March 4, 2022
"I just think they're not necessary at this point in the pandemic, knowing what we know about the risks for kids in terms of Covid, and knowing that we all have access to vaccinations, and that if we're concerned about our health we can wear N95s (high-caliber masks)," she tells AFP.
It boils down to balancing risks and benefits, she stresses. The downsides of masks "might not be dramatic in the sense that you might not have effects right away, but I think we have to be careful," said Vidal.
Masks in class - how damaging to child development?
–France24 | February 10, 2022
“A recently published study out of Johns Hopkins University demonstrates that these restrictions imposed on children have not changed these outcomes in any measurable way.” Dr. Johnson said. “Instead, closing schools and playgrounds, forcing remote teaching, prohibiting sports activities, discouraging social interaction and forced masking have done a lot of harms to children and society at large.” She cited academic declines, as well as a widening performance gap between black and Hispanic children and their white peers. Truancy and drop-out rates have increased. There is more food insecurity, and the risk for domestic abuse has a higher chance of not being reported, due to pandemic-related restrictions on children.
