The case against masks at school • Hacker News Board

Re: The case against masks at school

#801

Post by rcurry » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:15 AM UTC

tjr225 wrote: post #751

rcurry wrote: post #721

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only modern medicine was reserved for the Master Race, it would be so much simpler, and cost effective! But before you seek medical treatment we’ll just need you to fill out this questionnaire: 1. Have you ever had an alcoholic beverage? 2. Do you have a BMI greater than 18.5? 3. Have you ever eaten at The Cheesecake Factory? 4. Do you ride, run, or swim less than 40 miles per day? Please understand that your answ…

None of those things have forced us to all drastically alter our lives in the forms of economic and social lockdowns like covid has. It is a pretty silly thing to compare.

Covid is old and busted. Now all you have is OMG Omicron that’s just basically an annoying flu, you go ahead and lose your mind over it - it’s a free country. I’m still freaking out about dioxin so I don’t have time for this shit.

Re: The case against masks at school

#802

Post by caddemon » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:18 AM UTC

darth_avocado wrote: post #734

dsl wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

“Slightly inconvenienced” is a term I can assure you would be only used by someone who doesn’t have kids. Sure, the first six months, or even a year can be discounted as an aberration in the child development process and can be compensated for. This is year 3 with no end in sight. Do you even realize how much children develop in 3 years? A 6 year old and a 9 year old have a significant difference in cognitive capabil…

I get your overall point, but you're greatly exaggerating the length of time here. The entire pandemic has been going on for less than 2 years. I also don't know any district that wasn't in person this entire school year. Every family I know in my area (a pretty liberal area of the US) had a packed summer involving camps, friends, and road trips. Kids truly sat at home for about 1 year.

Re: The case against masks at school

#803

Post by nradov » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:18 AM UTC

reanimus wrote: post #698

pcmoney wrote: post #687

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I don't know, is there a free two-shot regimen to help deal with obesity? Also, last time I checked, hospitals weren't running out of ICU beds thanks to obesity.

I encourage everyone eligible to protect themselves by getting vaccinated, but hospitals literally are running out of beds thanks to obesity.

https://www.wfae.org/health/2021-09-30/novant-says-9-of-10-c...

Re: The case against masks at school

#804

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:19 AM UTC

autoexec wrote: post #378

vikingerik wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your face hole is not virus spewing if you aren't sick.

Too bad you can't know if you're sick or not until it's too late. It's one of the reasons this virus spreads so quickly. Even if you're not sick wearing masks also helps to protect you from getting sick. It's win/win for extremely minimal effort/inconvenience.

[deleted]

Re: The case against masks at school

#805

Post by srj » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:19 AM UTC

fullstackchris wrote: post #486

dsl wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course all of our problems go away when you convince the remaining 40% of the population to get vaccinated. I'm actually in favor of doing away with masks and social distancing. Just create a nationwide policy that the unvaccinated will not be admitted or treated for COVID and we can all return to our daily lives.

I'd argue it in a more adult way than just punishing those who are different from you. Just do away with the masking and social distancing regardless. As soon as we were throwing out the first doses of expired vaccine, the choice by every american to get vaccinated or not had been made. If the hospitals are overrun, it will be the unvaccinated, so they'll be punished anyway - no need to legally do it. Also you need t…

Is saying "Sam Harris stats" some kind of dig?

Re: The case against masks at school

#806

Post by treesknees » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:20 AM UTC

darth_avocado wrote: post #734

dsl wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

“Slightly inconvenienced” is a term I can assure you would be only used by someone who doesn’t have kids. Sure, the first six months, or even a year can be discounted as an aberration in the child development process and can be compensated for. This is year 3 with no end in sight. Do you even realize how much children develop in 3 years? A 6 year old and a 9 year old have a significant difference in cognitive capabil…

It's been almost 2 years. Your point still stands, but it has not been 3 years of lockdowns and schools closing their doors.

Re: The case against masks at school

#807

Post by tagoregrtst » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:21 AM UTC

a_shovel wrote: post #549

pcmoney wrote: post #506

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, Covid is low risk if you are vaccinated and elderly/at risk and extremely low risk if you are younger (vaccinated or not) It’s endemic. Its not going away. We are all going to get it. (Me: triple vaxxed, had covid 2x) Getting vaccinated is a personal heath decision (which I encourage) Time to move on.

This plan would kill a large portion of immunocompromised people worldwide.

Im not willing to build society around a theoretical risk for a very small population that is alive only because of artificial means.

Writ large, its immoral failing Kant’s categorical imperative. Massive utilitarian fail (you got to count the lockdown suicides and others too!). Aesthetically gross (life glued indoors is not really living).

Reasonable accommodations are fine, and necessary and can include: wearing a mask if a known immunocompromised person is present. Setting up free grocery delivery for them. Ambulatory health care.

Locking down society is not reasonable.

Re: The case against masks at school

#808

Post by lhorie » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:23 AM UTC

beiller wrote: post #614

aqme28 wrote: post #534

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If your Grandpa chose to not get vaccinated and gets COVID, thats his problem. Unfortunately though that's not true. It's putting a huge burden on hospitals that affects us all.

Isn't the point way up that nurses are quitting. This creates a burden at the hospital. Why are they quitting? Because they are treated like cattle instead of employed human beings. See the court case on the hospital suing the nurses in an at will employment state for quitting and going to another hospital for higher pay. There are even some who are fired for not getting a vaccine regardless of any special circumstan…

No post body was provided.

Re: The case against masks at school

#809

Post by alignItems » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:27 AM UTC

It’s worth pointing out that the U.K. government’s recommendations has always been - throughout the pandemic - that little children should not wear masks in school [1].

It may be true that children wearing masks in class could potentially prevent some indirect deaths, but we have to draw a balance. We do this with everything else.

Countless lives can be saved if we ban cars, planes, sugar, dogs, ladders, beaches, and knives.

Where we draw the line is a matter of opinion, not of fact.

[1] “Based on current evidence and the measures that schools are already putting in place, such as the system of controls and consistent bubbles, face coverings will not be necessary in the classroom even where social distancing is not possible. Face coverings could have a negative impact on teaching and their use in the classroom should be avoided.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schoo...

Re: The case against masks at school

#810

Post by ouid » Fri, Jan 28, 2022, 2:35 AM UTC

taylodl wrote: post #304

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…

If the concern is hospitals being overwhelmed for long periods of time, then there's really no reason not to just let them get overwhelmed all the way. They can return to normal working conditions earlier, and people can get important surgeries again.