Petition to Eliminate Mask Mandates & Vaccine Passports for Children in Yorkville Schools 

As the risk of Covid-19 has diminished considerably, small business, government centers, corporations, and event spaces throughout Illinois have opened up, removed mask mandates, and eliminated social distancing requirements. 

However, children in Yorkville Community School District 115 are still being forced to wear masks during athletic activities, student events, and while attending classes next fall. 

In addition, Yorkville High School recently acknowledged that Proof of Vaccination may be required in certain instances.

I, as a parent of a Yorkville School District child, find both of these policies to be unacceptable. 

I believe:

1. As a parent of a child in the Yorkville Community Unit School District 115, I have the right to choose whether my child wears a mask.
2. There is no longer a significant health risk for Covid in Kendall County. Therefore, mask mandates for children have no impact on the health of the Yorkville community.
3. The Governor of Illinois, Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker does not have lawful authority to mandate mask wearing for my child.
4. Requesting proof of a Covid Vaccination (currently under Emergency Use Authorization) violates HIPAA laws 

Here are the facts on masks and Covid-19:

• The current 7-day average of all new Covid cases in Kendall County is 3
• The current 7-day average of all new Covid deaths in Kendall County is 0
• There are 49.5 million school aged children in the US; from 3/1/20 through 6/16/21, 262 deaths occurred in children who either had Covid, or were presumed to have Covid. Of all positive cases in children, only 1.3% needed acute medical care. Children face 1.5x higher risk of dying from the flu, 3x higher risk of dying from car accidents, 10x higher risk of dying from drowning, and more than 20x higher risk of dying from homicide.
• In a study of 25,930 children, impairments caused by wearing the mask were reported including irritability (60%), headache (53%), difficulty concentrating (50%), less happiness (49%), reluctance to go to school (44%), malaise (42%) impaired learning (38%) and drowsiness or fatigue (37%)
• In the past year, children aged 5-11 have experienced a 25% increase in mental health crisis situations resulting in ER intervention, largely related to mandated interventions including masking and the impact it has had on their well-being. Children aged 12-18 have experienced a 32% increase.
• Asymptomatic carriers do not cause infection, confirmed by real-time laboratory testing. Further, even symptomatic children are not viral load carriers and are not largely considered spreaders to adult caregivers.
• 97% of viral particles from symptomatic carriers penetrate through cloth masks (the virus is 1000x smaller than the tightest cloth threading) while simultaneously increasing the risk of respiratory infection of the wearer by 6x.
• The CDC has indicated that CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) levels can increase over time while wearing a mask7

I believe that Yorkville parents have the right to choose whether or not their child wears a mask. 

Therefore, unless mask requirements are lifted effective July 19, 2021 (or before), my child will no longer participate in athletic events sponsored by Yorkville Community Unit School District 115.

References:

https://usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/illinois/county/kendall-county (6/12/21-6/19/21)

https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Deaths-Focus-on-Ages-0-18-Yea/nr4s-juj3​

https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp​

https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-124394/v1?fbclid=IwAR1y-gSTGkmHpFYT1deG3iDrUF3qocB_SbpEvrWkj6Z4fTWDwHKptKmLyjE

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219423/?report=reader

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/?report=reader (the only RCT study on masks)

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-coronavirus-mask-hypercapni/partly-false-claim-continually-wearing-a-mask-causes-hypercapnia-idUSKBN22H2H1 

More helpful info:

IL Child Covid stats: https://wirepoints.org/are-masks-still-needed-in-illinois-schools-wirepoints/

Respiratory virus shedding: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32371934/

Facemask Efficacy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7680614/#!po=64.9254

Microbial Exposure in Early Children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3437652/

Benefits vs Risks of vaccinating children under 12: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/kids-benefits-covid-vaccine-dont-outweigh-risks/

Influenza-related Pediatric Deaths down 5000% in 2020-21 season: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm​

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210614/Study-suggests-COVID-19-in-children-is-milder-than-the-flu.aspx

Over $5B in Covid relief money given to Illinois schools: https://wirepoints.org/pritzker-wants-350-million-more-for-k-12-budget-just-as-illinois-school-districts-are-about-to-get-5-billion-in-new-federal-stimulus-a-district-by-district-view-wirepoints/

Petition organizer: Tim Gleason