{"id":395682,"date":"2022-01-18T04:29:18","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T01:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/youngkin-is-right-mask-mandates-harm-kids\/"},"modified":"2022-01-18T04:29:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T01:29:18","slug":"youngkin-is-right-mask-mandates-harm-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/youngkin-is-right-mask-mandates-harm-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"#Youngkin is right \u2014 mask mandates harm kids"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Youngkin is right \u2014 mask mandates harm kids<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Rich Lowry\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/rich-lowry.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Glenn Youngkin promised to be on the side of parents as Virginia governor, and on his first day in office, he delivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Republican issued an executive order allowing parents to decide whether their kids will wear masks in school and met an instant wall of resistance from Democratic-controlled counties and criticism from the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki. A Washington Post headline said that Youngkin is \u201cterrifying\u201d people.<\/p>\n<p>The flak notwithstanding, his order is a sign of a growing backlash against COVID restrictions that will likely only gain force as the pandemic drags on and former articles of faith, including on masking, get increasingly called into doubt.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin has ventured into a legally murky area. Critics believe he doesn\u2019t have the authority to issue his order because Virginia passed a statute in early 2021 that says schools should \u201cto the maximum extent practicable\u201d adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-blessed strategies for controlling spread. The CDC is still recommending masks. The statute is vague, though, and doesn\u2019t mention masks. Youngkin\u2019s predecessor, Democrat Ralph Northam, felt compelled to issue an executive order specifically mandating them in K-12 schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also the question of whether decisions on masking and other mitigation measures are best left to school districts. Here, it is worth noting that Youngkin\u2019s order is different from that of his fellow Republican governors in Texas and Florida, who prohibited school districts from adopting mask mandates. Instead, Youngkin is establishing a carveout for parents from mandates, should they choose to take advantage of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-004.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Jen Psaki\" class=\"wp-image-20867886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-004.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-004.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-004.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki criticized Youngkin\u2019s executive order.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Ken Cedeno- Pool via CNP \/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a>P<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>All that said, it is clearly time for mask mandates to end. The conventional wisdom on masks has gone from \u201cDon\u2019t wear them, they are useless\u201d at the beginning of the pandemic to \u201cYou are a terrible person if you don\u2019t wear them\u201d for about a year and a half to \u201cCloth masks don\u2019t really protect anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite Jen Psaki saying that Arlington County, which vows to defy Youngkin, is standing up for kids and their safety, the case for masking kids in schools is weak or nonexistent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The United States is an outlier on this question. The CDC recommends masking all kids age 2 and older, whereas other health authorities are considerably more nuanced.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control doesn\u2019t recommend masking for schoolchildren younger than age 12, noting \u2014 correctly \u2014 that they \u201cmay have a lower tolerance to wearing masks for extended periods of time and may fail to wear them properly.\u201d In areas with community spread, it recommends masks for students in secondary schools, although it stipulates that they should \u201cbe seen as a complementary measure, rather than a stand-alone measure to prevent transmission within schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization makes distinctions based on age. It says that kids age 5 and younger shouldn\u2019t be required to wear masks based on the \u201coverall interest of the child and the capacity to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriately use a mask with minimal assistance.\u201d It is open to the masking of 6-to-11-year-olds, so long as a wide variety of conditions is met. And it says that kids age 12 and over should mask like adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many European countries have avoided sweeping, American-style mask mandates on school kids and for good reason. A large-scale CDC study found no benefits from masking kids. Many students wear cloth masks that don\u2019t provide much protection (even if worn and maintained properly), and no sane person should want to subject a child to an N95 all day long.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-003.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Child in school\" class=\"wp-image-20867885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-003.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-003.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-003.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Parents share mixed opinions on how effective wearing masks are in school. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Parents in Virginia who believe that masking is important can still act accordingly, and vaccines and boosters are available to provide another layer of protection. But masks remain something more than a public-health measure for many proponents \u2014 they are a signal of virtue and a pillar of pandemic orthodoxy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Youngkin\u2019s offense, at bottom, is dissenting from this worldview and providing options for parents who don\u2019t share it either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Twitter: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RichLowry?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">@RichLowry<\/a><\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/17\/youngkin-is-right-mask-mandates-harm-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Youngkin is right \u2014 mask mandates harm kids&#8221; Glenn Youngkin promised to be on the side of parents as Virginia governor, and on his first day in office, he delivered.\u00a0 The Republican issued an executive order allowing parents to decide whether their kids will wear masks in school and met an instant wall of resistance&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":395683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/01\/youngkin-mask-mandate-INDEX.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[124173,1545,118259,116860,72971],"class_list":["post-395682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-1-17-22","tag-coronavirus","tag-glenn-youngkin","tag-mask-mandates","tag-virginia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}