The Case Against Masks for Children

Wall Street Journal ^ | August 8, 2021 | Marty Makary and H. Cody Meissner

[karpov]

Do masks reduce Covid transmission in children? Believe it or not, we could find only a single retrospective study on the question, and its results were inconclusive. Yet two weeks ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sternly decreed that 56 million U.S. children and adolescents, vaccinated or not, should cover their faces regardless of the prevalence of infection in their community. Authorities in many places took the cue to impose mandates in schools and elsewhere, on the theory that masks can’t do any harm.

That isn’t true. Some children are fine wearing a mask, but others struggle. Those who have myopia can have difficulty seeing because the mask fogs their glasses. (This has long been a problem for medical students in the operating room.) Masks can cause severe acne and other skin problems. The discomfort of a mask distracts some children from learning. By increasing airway resistance during exhalation, masks can lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. And masks can be vectors for pathogens if they become moist or are used for too long.

In March, Ireland’s Department of Health announced that it won’t require masks in schools because they “may exacerbate anxiety or breathing difficulties for some students.” Some children compensate for such difficulties by breathing through their mouths. Chronic and prolonged mouth breathing can alter facial development. It is well-documented that children who mouth-breathe because adenoids block their nasal airways can develop a mouth deformity and elongated face.

The possible psychological harm of widespread masking is an even greater worry. Facial expressions are integral to human connection, particularly for young children, who are only learning how to signal fear, confusion and happiness. Covering a child’s face mutes these nonverbal forms of communication and can result in robotic and emotionless interactions

[Leep]

There is no case for mask..period.
Stop this crap!

[Qiviut]

Any child who wants to wear a mask should be free to do so. But forcing them to make personal, health and developmental sacrifices for the sake of adults who refuse to get immunized is abusive.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Of course, the WSJ just has to take a pot shot at those, who for VERY good, informed reasons, do NOT want to be guinea pigs and blame the masks mandates on these people. It will be interesting to see when/if the 'worm' will ever 'turn' as it becomes apparent that jabbed/unjabbed are on equal footing since the jabs do NOT prevent transmission. The next 'sacred cow' to fall will be that if you have been jabbed and get COVID, your symptoms will be milder, There is already data out there that this is proving not to be true in all cases and the dreaded ADE appears to be 'afoot', unacknowledged of course.

While there may not be good studies on the efficacy of mask wearing by children, there appears to be plenty of evidence that harm is being done. Kids being forced to wear masks is CHILD ABUSE.

Fortunately, the only two kids of public school age in our family are being home schooled - no masks, CRT, indoctrination for them .... they are already receiving a fine education from their parents, at home.

[gunnut]

I have a 3 year old who is in daycare. The state mandate months ago were that kids and teachers were supposed to wear masks. These same kids are together all day (about 10 per class) and they did not wear their masks while eating lunch together where they were probably a couple of feet from each other. Also kids often did not wear them properly or at all.

In this setting even if the masks work, they are completely useless without 100% compliance. IF they work, they work in settings where you are passing by someone or spending a brief period of time in close proximity not in a close proximity for extended periods of time. For masks to be effective in that environment, you need an N95 and wear it properly.

All theater…..

[clarissaexplainsitall]

Of course you are right. My 5 yr old has been in daycare everyday since this whole Corona thing started. Sometime back in January, they finally broke down and required kids to wear masks over 2 yrs old. Without any announcement, it ended about three weeks in. We just stopped and clearly weren’t the only ones.

School is starting up in two weeks and the private schools have just announced masks are req’d again in the grammar and high school. Ugh!!! I’m so sad for my kids. And my 5 yr old is starting 1st grade and will have to now wear a mask as well.

[Hojczyk]

School starts tomorrow in SW Florida....not required unless your parents are scared to death...

Have no idea if the plastic shields are going to be used on the desks...and hall ways

[BitWielder1]

Kids need to be exposed to a variety of germs and viruses to build a healthy immune system.
They want us all to be dependent on an endless sequence of government mandated "vaccines" and "boosters".
To protect everybody's health of course,
Never mind that the jabs themselves are unhealthy, officially it's the refusers who put everyone else at risk.

[AT7Saluki]

Then there's this:

Respiratory viruses such as RSV are spreading earlier than usual. Flu could be next, some doctors fear.

How much of that is due to breathing polluted mask air and/or NOT being exposed to the viruses all around, thereby building immunity?

[freeandfreezing]

For masks to be effective in that environment, you need an N95 and wear it properly.

That is a very important point that the current administration refuses to admit. The only purpose for wearing cloth or medical masks is to reduce the amount of spit droplets emitted by the wearer. The masks do not and cannot stop or even reduce the inhalation of virus particles.

Cloth or medical masks can reduce the transmission rate for illness slightly. Studies show about a 20% rate reduction for influenza. But that small reduction in overall transmission of a virus does nothing to stop the spread of a more contagious virus like the Delta variant of COVID-19.

The CDC knows what kind of mask is actually needed to prevent against airborne viruses:

"...an appropriate respiratory protection device, such as a half-mask air-purifying (or negative-pressure) respirator with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter or a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filters. Follow local and state requirement regarding pulmonary function and fit testing before beginning any work requiring the use of a respirator.

Personal protective gear should be decontaminated upon removal at the end of the day. All potentially infective waste material (including respirator filters) from clean-up operations that cannot be burned or deep-buried on site should be double-bagged in appropriate plastic bags. The bagged material should then be labeled as infectious (if it is to be transported) and disposed of in accordance with local requirements for infectious waste."

Source

Protecting yourself against airborne viruses is not easy, and medical masks on children do nothing.

[pfony1]

But...but...

CHINA wants America “shut-down” until America becomes a “failed state” by “voluntarily” committing economic suicide.

Anyway, WHO are YOU to oppose our future over-lords and their useful idiots by spreading the TRUTH?

[lakecumberlandvet]

Do whatever you have to do but don’t let them force your kids to wear masks. They are harmful in a multitude of ways and they don’t work.

[joma89]

We live in a world of universal deceit and the people who vote for democrats are solely responsible for the chaos it causes.

[Elsie]

The Case Against Masks for Children

ANYONE!!