Free Republic

The nation’s recent lockdown policies and mask mandates will create a generation of children who exhibit lower IQs and signs of social brain damage, according to Dr. Mark McDonald, a clinical psychiatrist for children and adolescents, in an interview with host Cindy Drukier of a Dec. 25 episode of NTD’s The Nation Speaks. McDonald cited an Aug. 11 study by Browns University (pdf) which found that “children born during the pandemic have significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic.” The masks, “zoom schools,” and lockdown mandates lead to “deprivation overall, of social contact, [of]...

While discussing masks mandates, author Naomi Wolf expresses shock that a new study from Brown University — which suggests a 21% drop in children’s IQ during the pandemic — is not front page news. In the decade preceding the pandemic, the mean IQ score on standardized tests for children aged between three months and three years of age hovered around 100, but for children born during the pandemic that number tumbled to 78. They added mask-wearing by adults may have also impacted babies’ development because children were less able to learn from facial cues. But this angle was not fully...

Texas reported 4,320 COVID-19-related hospitalizations on Saturday, a high not seen since mid-March, when the state’s numbers began trending downward. The total marks an increase of over 1,000 hospitalizations from the prior week, when the state reported just shy of 3,000. Last week, the state’s health commissioner noted a 150 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations between June 27 and July 20. Dr. John Hellerstedt, the commissioner of the department of state health services, noted that the delta variant makes up most new cases in Texas. He urged residents who haven’t yet received a COVID-19 vaccine to seek out the shot.

President Biden was sworn into office Wednesday, and one of his first priorities will be to sign an executive order urging Americans to wear masks for 100 days and requiring them on federal property. During his inaugural address, the new commander in chief warned that the nation’s “darkest and most deadly” coronavirus pandemic days could be ahead of it.

As face masks become a societal norm, many people are speaking out against those who are choosing not to wear them, and some critics say that wearing a mask may determine how smart you are. John Lundin, a self-described environmental activist and author, recently tweeted, “A mask is not a political statement. It’s an IQ test.” His tweet was met with many comments of support. A recent Gallup/Knight Foundation poll that asked, “In the past 7 days, how often did you wear a mask or cloth face covering outside your home?” showed that 30% of high school graduates, 41% of...