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The case against masks at school

theatlantic.com

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Re: The case against masks at school

#711
post #680

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean most experts agree that it is (or will be), soooo yeah you should probably accept that and figure out how to live your life accordingly, maybe just don't go into public policy making though.

Curious which experts are "most" and which are not.

Fauci says COVID-19 won't go away like smallpox, but will more likely become endemic https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2022/0...

Covid is here for good, scientists say. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/is-covid-here-t...

Despite omicron, Covid-19 will become endemic. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22849891/omicron-pandemic...

Those are just a few from a quick google search

Re: The case against masks at school

#712

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We dont make this distinction with the vast majority of personal choices. Obesity causes a ton of strain on our health system. Should we start a class system based on BMI?

I’ve never caught obesity by sitting next to someone. Have you?

Again, vaccines do not stop transmission or contagion

Re: The case against masks at school

#713
post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If screaming Karens are going to insist on in person learning In defense of the Karens (ew, I feel gross even typing that) remote learning absolutely was the disaster they say it was. It was really, really bad. It's hard to exaggerate how bad it was. And I mean specifically for the kids, not for the parents (it also sucked for them/us, obviously). We can probably recover well-enough from a semester or two of it, bu…

No. It wasn't that bad. School still continued. Your children are at most slightly inconvenienced during a global pandemic that has killed MILLIONS of people. All you have to do is keep your kid looking at a screen. They may need to repeat a year of school. At some point in their future your kids boss may say "oh right, you were a pandemic kid, here let me show you." It's like someone in WW2 UK complaining that the G…

Nieve

Re: The case against masks at school

#714
post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and? The hospital case load is overwhelmingly, screamingly, massively dominated by the elderly unvaccinated. https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/... Given the extremely contagious nature of Omicron, what plausible way do we have to prevent these individuals from getting COVID and using hospital space? And don't say masking up kids—because if they haven't gotten vaccinated, then why do you…

I know multiple households where the initial infection vector was the kids. Grandpa might be stupid and refuse the vaccine, but keeping little Billy from becoming a carrier lessens the hospital load. If screaming Karens are going to insist on in person learning, we need to mask test and vaccinate in the schools.

Yeah, but masks aren't doing much to prevent that. My kids go to an Oregon elementary school that requires full time masking and I can't think of a single kid who hasn't had it. COVID has run rampant through Oregon schools. I don't care what the lab studies show. Masks don't do shit in schools. The elderly and vulnerable need to get vaccinated, or be handled in a tent in the hospital parking lot. Stop punishing kids. This coming from a very large, male, angry "Karen."

Re: The case against masks at school

#715
post #555

General observation from reading the comments - the folks on HN must not have many friends working in medicine for if they had they'd realize those friends are swamped and burned-out. They'd also know that pretty much the only condition we're treating nowadays is Covid. Surgeries are continuing to be postponed - including surgeries that can lead to worse problems down the road such as removing cancerous tumors. And i…

> You can see what our child-bearing aged children think of all this - they're not having kids. I don't think this is a short-term aberration. We're a population literally in decline. I'm one of these folks. I think it's wrong to blame this solely on COVID. I won't have kids because my position in the United States is nowhere near guaranteed. I have survived three economic recessions, one of which I lost everything i…

I think you are misunderestimating the value that bringing a new life into the world offers you as a parent, and your community. The world in general, and especially the United States, has never been more peaceful and prosperous as it is now. Human civilization needs more people, now more than ever.

Re: The case against masks at school

#716

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if we're supposed to treat the position against vaccination being effective as "not stupid", we ought to hear reasons why that is.

My point is that if you insinuate that anyone who holds that position is stupid through sarcasm and snarky comments, you are never going to hear those reasons, because no one will want to engage with you.

I've heard tons of reasons why people aren't getting vaccinated. At least every one I've heard is based on false or poor quality information. I wouldn't go so far as to call those people stupid. But I would say most of their reasons for not getting vaccinated are stupid.

Re: The case against masks at school

#717
post #700

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should we apply the same standards to the obese? Arguably a greater strain on our health care system.

If avoiding obesity was as easy as a $20 needle prick with minimal side effects... absolutely. Without question, I would require that vaccine for everyone that didn't have a valid medical reason not to.

It is even easier, just dont eat too much. Also free.

Re: The case against masks at school

#718

General observation from reading the comments - the folks on HN must not have many friends working in medicine for if they had they'd realize those friends are swamped and burned-out. They'd also know that pretty much the only condition we're treating nowadays is Covid. Surgeries are continuing to be postponed - including surgeries that can lead to worse problems down the road such as removing cancerous tumors. And i…

I understand you are making the argument that removing mandates for masks at schools will lead us to have a shortage of medical practitioners? That seems dubious to me.

From what I know, the limits on number of doctors licensed each year are tightly controlled. If students drop out, there are countless others who will be willing to take their place.

Re: The case against masks at school

#719
post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If screaming Karens are going to insist on in person learning In defense of the Karens (ew, I feel gross even typing that) remote learning absolutely was the disaster they say it was. It was really, really bad. It's hard to exaggerate how bad it was. And I mean specifically for the kids, not for the parents (it also sucked for them/us, obviously). We can probably recover well-enough from a semester or two of it, bu…

No. It wasn't that bad. School still continued. Your children are at most slightly inconvenienced during a global pandemic that has killed MILLIONS of people. All you have to do is keep your kid looking at a screen. They may need to repeat a year of school. At some point in their future your kids boss may say "oh right, you were a pandemic kid, here let me show you." It's like someone in WW2 UK complaining that the G…

I have family that teach in poorer districts here in California. Distance learning (for middle school in these areas that I have heard about) was and is an unmitigated disaster. A lot of the families served don't have reliable internet. Many have nowhere in their homes where a child can be in class without massive distractions of siblings/people/noise/etc making it essentially impossible for the students to pay attention. Often the laptops/chromebooks sent home with them don't last long due to external actions from others in the household.

The teachers are trying their best, but the best teacher in the world can't overcome the nature of these problems, and the effects are absolutely compounding over the past couple of years. It's really, really bad.

Re: The case against masks at school

#720

General observation from reading the comments - the folks on HN must not have many friends working in medicine for if they had they'd realize those friends are swamped and burned-out. They'd also know that pretty much the only condition we're treating nowadays is Covid. Surgeries are continuing to be postponed - including surgeries that can lead to worse problems down the road such as removing cancerous tumors. And i…

I just graduated from nursing school and am preparing for my board exam. Everyone I talked and worked with during school said this was the worst period in their careers. Now, with Omicron, we're back to peak load on hospitals. The postponements started in the middle of December, it's terrible.

I program as a hobby, so I do frequent here. It is unusual how many people talk here about medicine, especially when deciding to debate medical ethics. A lot of it feels like they are working it out a priori.

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