Talk About It Tuesday - Masking

 

Today, the CDC has updated their guidelines to state that even vaccinated people should wear masks indoor.  Not long ago, even the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested children age 2 and up wear masks because a) a significant portion of children are not yet eligible to be vaccinated and b) because they want in person learning to be the educational focus this year.  And yet even with the two of these medical bodies encouraging masking, there are many in my area that don't want the district to reevaluate.  As I posted yesterday, my kids are going back to school two weeks from today.  As of right now, the school system isn't mandating masks, but a non-insignificant number of parents are petitioning the district to reinstate the mandate.  

I make the mistake of reading Facebook comments far too often.  There is still a lot of misinformation/disinformation out there, like it's harmful for anyone to breath in their CO₂ (it doesn't), if your breath/scents can come through then so can the virus (not entirely true), it's child abuse (it's not - YouTube link)  or it is government overreach making someone have to wear a mask (in a public health crisis, such as what we are in, the government is allowed to require certain precautions be put in place).  I've been trying really hard not to reply to comments, especially after, having posted a very polite reply with a comment regarding the difference between EUA and full authorization and a link to the FDA, getting tagged for spam.  But I do end up feeling so incredibly angry because it doesn't seem to matter how many times we give people factual information, they refuse to take off the blinders.

When it comes to masks, I can't understand how people can be so resistant to having our kids wear them.  Ok, they aren't the most comfortable things in the world.  I'll admit I have times when I just want to tear it off.  But sometimes we have to do the best we can to keep our kids safe, even if it makes them uncomfortable.  If I cared more about Pete's comfort than wearing what he has to, he'd never have clothes on anywhere.  Kids are also a lot more resilient, a lot better able to get used to something than a lot of parents give them credit for.  It becomes as much of a habit as wearing shoes, putting on SSA and bringing a backpack to school, as long as parents don't make a big deal out of it.

It seems like these parents are more concerned with keeping the masks off their kids' faces than the reality of the situation that the Delta Variant of COVID is more dangerous to children than the previous variants.  Add to this the fact that children under 12 cannot get the vaccine yet (and even of the ones that can be vaccinated, only approximately 25% have been vaccinated )  and there are still some adults that have been advised by their doctor that, for health reasons, they should not take the vaccine.  Not requiring masks will allow more people that can't be protected catch it, which will make it more likely that schools will have to go back to virtual learning because there either won't be enough teachers to teach or because there are too many students out because they are sick with COVID.  The sad thing is, these are the same people that will complain if we have to go back to virtual learning, not realizing that their actions in refusing to have their child wear masks or thinking that a mask mandate is needed is what is causing us to have to close schools.

All I know is that, regardless of what these others think, regardless of whether the district changes their mind, regardless of the fact that both my boys are fully vaccinated, they will be wearing masks all day, every day at school.  Because nothing is 100% and they will do their part to try to keep their fellow humans safe.  And I'm not the only one who feels this way - both of them do too.  Which is what makes me proud of them.

Masked and Vaccinated - for their fellow humans