No to mandatory masks in NY schools and daycares
No to mandatory masks in NY schools and daycares
Why this petition matters
March 18, 2022
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, MD, Health Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Honorable Mayor Adams,
Since your announcement on March 4, 2022 to continue mandatory masking for the youngest age group (toddlers and children under the age of five years old), we remain committed as ever to demand optional masking for all. Our letter below still stands.
Sincerely,
New York Residents
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Department of Health
Office of Commissioner
Corning Tower, Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 22237
Dear Mary T. Bassett, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner, Mayor Eric Adams, and Governor Kathy Hochul,
The national conversation around mandatory masking is now shifting to acknowledge the development, mental and social detriments these policies are causing children right now. In fact, the World Health Organization has never recommended masks for children under 5 years old and only limited circumstances for children under 11.
We ask you to join surrounding states and end mandatory masking in schools and daycares now. ALL children but especially those with speech delays, learning disabilities, social anxieties, hearing loss, sensory issues and on the spectrum deserve better.
There are now growing calls for children to learn with optional masking, as there is no clear evidence to show that masking children indefinitely has curbed this pandemic and kept schools “safe.” With most adults now vaccinated, our state of New York boasts an 84.3% completed vaccination series, the time is now to advocate for children who remain naturally protected against severe illness and death from COVID-19.
Recent articles across all political spectrums, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, NPR, and the Tablet call for the end of student masking or at least metrics given to determine when and how this can be achieved as soon as possible. Parents need answers.
Here are a few articles that have come out recently, with many authored by epidemiologists, infectious disease physicians and doctors:
March 17, 2022, 74million.org
March 2, 2022, The Atlantic
February 10, 2022, WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220210/mask-mandates-falling-as-cdc-urges-patience
February 5, 2022: Time Magazine,
https://time.com/6145291/end-mandatory-masks-schools/
February 4, 2022, Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tear-down-these-masks-11644019001
February 3, 2022, The Hill
January 28, 2022: The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/opinion/masks-covid-children.html
January 28, 2022: NPR, https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1075842341/growing-calls-to-take-masks-off-children-in-school
January 26, 2022: The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/kids-masks-schools-weak-science/621133/
January 25, 2022: The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/25/schools-safely-make-masks-optional-new-cdc-guidelines/
January 19, 2022: Tablet Magazine, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/cult-masked-schoolchildren
Please read this and consider the long-term effects of mandatory masking on children in the prime of their learning career and social development.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Photo: Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images