Early in the pandemic, authorities touted that masks made no difference in terms of the possible spread of the virus.
Months later, this was backpedaled, with the justification that the previous stance was so that citizens would not buy up and hoard PPE required for front line workers.
After the vaccine roll-out, mask mandates were briefly lifted until evidence began to mount that the vaccinated could still both spread and contract the virus.
A WHO funded study in the Lancet which included data from 16 countries suggests that masks are an effective prevention tool.
Our political leaders wear masks when the opportunity arises to signal their virtue and reinforce the narratives of their mandates and directives.
Children, in particular, are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of masking, both physically and in terms of their development.
Especially in infants, toddlers and younger children, reading facial expressions is a key determinant in the development of empathy and healthy social interactions.
Long term studies regarding the effects of mask wearing on children's development are notably absent from the literature as previously there has never been any need for such studies.
At the microscopic level, virus particles and a surgical mask scale in the same way as a mosquito would to a chain link fence.
The mask myth constantly perpetuated is that wearing a mask protects the wearer, when in fact it protects others, particularly from droplets in the case of a sneeze or cough.
Cloth masks provide little protection, and surgical masks some protection; for any mask mandate to be truly effective, properly fitted N95 masks would be necessary and sufficient.
Note that the above video is from July 2020, prior to the announcement of the COVID vaccines and subsequent variants, restrictions and policies.
Suggested Reading
Masking Children: Tragic, Unscientific, and Damaging Dr. Paul E Alexander, March 2021
Nasal ACE2 Levels and COVID-19 in Children Ankit B. Patel, MD, PhD; Ashish Verma, MBBS1, May 2020
Suggested Viewing
Masking children is impacting their development , Joe Jarvis, November 2021
For reflection and discussion
Do mask mandates have a psychological effect on the population at large? How does mask wearing affect the way we regard others? Does the culture of mask wearing imply an individualist or collectivist mentality?
Given that the chance of death from Sars-Cov-2 is statistically zero for healthy young children, how ethical are mask mandates for children given there are presently no long term studies on how it will affect them?
Does forcing children to wear masks make them more or less likely to blindly accept future pandemic policies and mandates?
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Operation Warpspeed
On May 15, 2020 the Trump Administration announced Operation Warpspeed, an initiative to expedite the development of a vaccine that would provide immunity against the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus. Via the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act, $10 billion in taxpayer funds were distributed to the largest pharmaceutical corporations; this wa…