The case against masks at school • Hacker News Board

Re: The case against masks at school

#31

Post by uxp100 » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:06 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #15

My kids attend a university in Canada and live in residence on campus. They have had incredibly strict rules around masking and gatherings. It's clear that they are only considering one variable - number of infections - and it seems like they aren't considering any other factors. For example, in the dorm there is a common area with a piano. Because of COVID, playing that piano is banned. Even if there was a reasonabl…

Reminds me of (now takeout only) restaurants which have their bathrooms closed "for covid," or public drinking fountains which are still closed "for covid." Not really much to due with covid at this point I suspect. So it may not really be about measuring infections at all, but that played piano makes noise and requires tuning, and so administration would rather just not, and now there is an excuse.

Re: The case against masks at school

#32

Post by dv_dt » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #12

siquick wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve found N95 masks to be far more breathable than the normal paper masks, and definitely more breathable than cloth masks.

do you mean N95 masks with a valve? If so I agree, but the ones without a valve are way more difficult to breath in, that is kind of the point.

I think they are talking as compared to cloth or surgical masks - and I would agree that the n95 class of masks are relatively easier to breathe in (and also reusable).

Re: The case against masks at school

#33

Post by edgyquant » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

andreareina wrote: post #4

fifteenforty wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What type of mask is she wearing?

I'm a former asthmatic. Even cloth masks are restrictive enough that they'd have been an issue for me.

Yeah me as well + I wear glasses so I can’t see unless the weather is absolutely perfect (little humidity etc.)

Re: The case against masks at school

#34

Post by edgyquant » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

aerovistae wrote: post #29

sul_tasto wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

perhaps an unmask would be helpful: https://www.getunmask.com/

Just bought one. Hoping it lives up to its marketing and I can enjoy a flight on an airplane without discomfort. I'm triple-vaccinated and absolutely sick of wearing a mask. I agreed with it for the first 18+ months of this but by now I'm just no longer in favor. I no longer believe covid will eventually "go away" and am certainly not in favor of wearing masks for years to come in the hopes that it does. Those that r…

This is how I feel as well, and it seems to be a growing sentiment among liberals who supported the masks and lockdowns for the first year or so.

Re: The case against masks at school

#35

Post by christkv » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

usefulcat wrote: post #19

The article talks a lot about how there's little or no evidence showing benefits of masking for kids, and also talks a lot about the unknown long-term effects of masking on kids. However, as with so many articles trying to make a point or persuade people, it barely mentions at all the unknown long-term effects of covid. I'm willing to be persuaded by evidence, but (for me) any piece that fails to address such an obvi…

If you have small children you know what joke masks are in school. Little kids are not responsible adults. They touch their face, take their masks on and off, exchange them with their friends and even eat them.

Pretending that masks on young kids contribute anything to slowing the spread is complete wishful thinking.

Re: The case against masks at school

#36

Post by xorcist » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

usefulcat wrote: post #19

The article talks a lot about how there's little or no evidence showing benefits of masking for kids, and also talks a lot about the unknown long-term effects of masking on kids. However, as with so many articles trying to make a point or persuade people, it barely mentions at all the unknown long-term effects of covid. I'm willing to be persuaded by evidence, but (for me) any piece that fails to address such an obvi…

Demanding evidence of things we know nothing about in order to consider evidence of things we do know about is a rather tall order, even theoretically speaking.

Re: The case against masks at school

#37

Post by wonderwonder » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

throwaway22032 wrote: post #21

The case against masks is quite trivial and generalizable across most industries. Today, a teacher now has two realistic options: a) self-isolate indefinitely, either teaching remotely or quitting their job b) contract coronavirus at some point Given that, masks are an irrelevance. A teacher who is clinically vulnerable and unwilling to roll the dice is left only with the option to quit their job, regardless of wheth…

My kids school district did not require masks but highly recommended them. I figured I would send the kids to school with masks as I did not want to be disrespectful to their teachers who I assumed would be masked out of concern with being around so many children all day. None of their teachers wore masks, so that was the end of that. Essentially 15% of people including teachers and students wear masks. None of the adults (school staff) in their on campus after school program are masked either.

Re: The case against masks at school

#38

Post by comrh » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #14

In a way it's reassuring that people of all political stripes can at least come together on one point: that the CDC has been asleep at the wheel during most of this pandemic. Hopefully at some point there will be a discussion about how to reform the body to be much more proactive.

I wish we could all come together and say, "this needs more study" too and admit we might not have enough data to actually make a real decision.

Re: The case against masks at school

#39

Post by YXNjaGVyZWdlbgo » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

xenonite wrote: post #26

sul_tasto wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

perhaps an unmask would be helpful: https://www.getunmask.com/

Ironically, they offer four different sizes, while I yet haven't found FFP2 masks in more than in one size.

Buy good ones like the 3M Aurora and you get at least 3 size options...

Re: The case against masks at school

#40

Post by phil21 » Thu, Jan 27, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #12

siquick wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve found N95 masks to be far more breathable than the normal paper masks, and definitely more breathable than cloth masks.

do you mean N95 masks with a valve? If so I agree, but the ones without a valve are way more difficult to breath in, that is kind of the point.

The 3M Aura+ line is by far the easiest mask (including cloth) I've used, and coincidentally it gives me the best seal.

I don't use them often, just in high risk situations - but they pass the glasses fog test among other things, and I can't tell I'm wearing it after about 15 minutes. All other masks annoy me.

YMMV but it really surprised me as I hate the "surgical style" 3M N95's, these "duckbill" design masks are quite comfortable and breathable in comparison.