Physicians Urge Schools to Maintain Mask Mandates, Protect Kids – Tennessee Education Report

Physicians Urge Schools to Maintain Mask Mandates, Protect Kids – Tennessee Education Report

PHYSICIANS URGE SCHOOLS TO MAINTAIN MASK MANDATES, PROTECT KIDS

A group of Tennessee physicians this week responded to Gov. Bill Lee urging local school districts to drop mask mandates.

Here’s more from a press release:

“Mask requirements for our classrooms keep COVID out so our kids can stay in school, parents at work and most importantly, protect vulnerable children who do not have the option to get vaccinated yet,” said Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, an internal medicine/primary care physician in Nashville, who also holds a Masters in Public Health.  “And we know it works: counties without mask requirements have seen more COVID spread, leading to more kids getting sick, parents and kids having to quarantine, making it harder on local businesses and families.”

Dr. Sara Cross, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the UT College of Medicine in Memphis, who also served on the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force,  is concerned. 

 “The Governor’s announcement urging school districts to drop their mask CONTINUE READING: Physicians Urge Schools to Maintain Mask Mandates, Protect Kids – Tennessee Education Report

Responses to “Moms for Liberty” – Tennessee Education Report - http://tnedreport.com/?p=5276 via @TNEdReport

Memphis Teachers to See Pay Raise – Tennessee Education Report - http://tnedreport.com/?p=5274 via @TNEdReport

C.D.C.: Schools in the U.S. Should Continue to Use Masks - The New York Times

C.D.C.: Schools in the U.S. Should Continue to Use Masks - The New York Times

Schools in the U.S. should continue to use masks, C.D.C. advises

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday clarified coronavirus advice for U.S. schools, recommending the continued, universal use of masks and physical distancing, after the agency’s sudden announcement that vaccinated Americans could forego masks indoors.

All schools teaching students from kindergarten through grade 12 should continue to implement proper mask-wearing through the end of the 2020-2021 school year, the C.D.C. said. The agency also kept in place its suggestions to observe physical distancing and to test for coronavirus infections.

About 122 million people had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in the U.S. as of Saturday, but the average number of vaccinations per day has dropped since its peak in April, according to C.D.C. data. News of the C.D.C.’s sweeping change to mask rules that were introduced a year ago came suddenly last week, prompting elation among many Americans but also some confusion over how to respond to the new guidance.

The C.D.C.’s advice for schools attempts to clear up some of the confusion. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States. But some parents are still hesitant about the vaccine. And no vaccines have been authorized yet for children under 12. CONTINUE READING: C.D.C.: Schools in the U.S. Should Continue to Use Masks - The New York Times

glen brown: Why You Should Double-Mask to Prevent Covid-19 and How to Do It

glen brown: Why You Should Double-Mask to Prevent Covid-19 and How to Do It

Why You Should Double-Mask to Prevent Covid-19 and How to Do It

“As more contagious coronavirus variants emerge, health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, say it’s probably a good idea to start doubling up on your face masks.

“The new variants are thought to have an easier time binding to our cells, so the more layers we have covering our noses and mouths, the less likely we’ll be exposed to viral particles that can infect our cells and make us sick. Two masks may help create a stronger shield between you and the virus (or, at the very least, they couldn’t hurt).

“Here’s everything you should know about double-masking ― including how to go about it ― so you can prevent COVID-19 as best as you can:

“Pick two masks that have enough layers and air filtration.

“‘The more layers, the more barriers you can put between yourself and the virus, the better off you’re going to be,’ said Thomas Duszynski, the director of epidemiology education at Indiana University’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.

“N95 face masks are the gold standard in terms of protection. If you can get ahold of an N95 and double it up with a surgical mask, you’re going to have an efficient shield against viral particles. But N95 masks continue to be in limited supply, so they’ll be difficult to score for the time being. The issue then is how to spice up your cloth or surgical face masks, said Onyema Ogbuagu, a Yale Medicine infectious disease doctor and principal investigator of Yale’s Pfizer COVID-19 trial.

 

“The two properties of a mask you want to look for are the filtering capacity and the breathability, according to Ogbuagu. You want masks that can both filter the air we breathe in and limit how many respiratory secretions we shoot out.

 

“KN95 masks are thought to be pretty good alternatives to N95 masks in non-clinical settings. They might not be quite as rigorous as N95s — there’s really no beating them — but KN95 masks still offer a lot of protection for you and others when sealed around your nose and mouth. (Here’s a list of the KN95s that have received emergency use authorization.) Surgical masks are great for protecting you and others against large respiratory droplets, but due to their loose fit, they’re not foolproof at keeping out all of the smaller, aerosolized particles. (Tip: if your surgical mask is loose, try tying knots in the ear loops to keep it taut.)

“Put your air-filtration mask on first, then cover it up with another one. Make sure you choose breathable fabrics with no valves, otherwise you’ll defeat the purpose.

“The mask with the greatest filtering capabilities should go on first, like the N95, KN95 or a well-fitted surgical mask. Make sure that mask is tightly sealed against your face. You don’t want gaps in the mask along the sides of your face where contaminated air can sneak in. Data suggests certain cloth masks might not be as protective as we once hoped, so it might be time to officially ditch the bandanas and neck gaiters and have your second layer be a multilayer cloth mask or another surgical mask.

“In general, the more layers your masks have, the better off you — and the people around you — will be. Studies have found that masks with multiple layers can block 50% to 70% of small droplets. When it comes to cloth masks, evidence suggests three layers of tightly woven fabric are the way to go.

 

“‘The more layers you have covering your nose and mouth means less virus CONTINUE READING: glen brown: Why You Should Double-Mask to Prevent Covid-19 and How to Do It

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.

Eleven states let school districts decide whether students and staff must wear masks. One Georgia middle school where masks were optional became the center of an outbreak.

On a balmy August morning in Emanuel County in eastern Georgia, hundreds of children bounded off freshly cleaned school buses and out of their parents’ cars. They were greeted by the principal, teachers and staff at Swainsboro Middle School who hadn’t seen them in four months. Before allowing the children to enter, a longtime receptionist beamed a temperature gun at their foreheads and checked for violations of the public school’s strict dress code: mostly neutral colors, nothing tight and no shoulders exposed.

Masks were optional, and about half of the children wore them. So did the receptionist, but only sporadically, according to several teachers.

Within a couple of days, the receptionist was out sick. Another receptionist called in sick as well. Both had caught the coronavirus, according to social media posts. In the ensuing weeks, a wave of cases would rush through the building — an outbreak for which district leaders blamed the community rather than the lack of a mask mandate in the schools. At least nine middle school teachers would be infected, including four along a single hallway; one would spend four weeks on a ventilator, fighting for her life. More than 100 students were quarantined because of positive cases or exposure. Within the first two months of school, the county would have one of the highest proportions of school-age COVID-19 cases in the state.

“Not everything that could have been done or should have been done was being done in the school system to stop the spread,” said Dr. Cedric Porter, a local CONTINUE READING: Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. — ProPublica

Good News, Teachers: Cloth Masks Do Protect the Wearer | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Good News, Teachers: Cloth Masks Do Protect the Wearer | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Good News, Teachers: Cloth Masks Do Protect the Wearer

COVID-19 has shaken classroom teaching to its core. It’s like carrying a platter of full water glasses while walking down the aisle of a lurching bus, and doing so daily.

Expect varying degrees of success, and intentionally celebrate those successes in that day to fortify your mental stability.

Believe me when I write that I thank God that he measures out my life in daily installments.

My sanity is grounded in understanding what, exactly, I control and leveraging that control to counter the volley of adjustments to adjustments.

And so, we arrive at mask wearing during this pandemic.

I am relieved that my school district requires students and staff to wear masks, and I am so grateful that I have virtually no pushback from my students regarding this requirement.

One issue under my control involves creating a respectful atmosphere in my room, which includes explaining why mask wearing is important to me; modeling the very behavior I am asking of my students, and thanking them for complying.

Of course, what is also completely under my control is my choice to wear my own mask.

When the pandemic first short-sheeted life in Louisiana, on Friday, March 13, 2020, I did not immediately take to wearing a mask, but I did immediately begin CONTINUE READING: Good News, Teachers: Cloth Masks Do Protect the Wearer | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Silver Lining: My Students Are Okay with Wearing Masks. | deutsch29

Silver Lining: My Students Are Okay with Wearing Masks. | deutsch29

Silver Lining: My Students Are Okay with Wearing Masks.

This past week was my first with students since the pandemic hit.

So much is in flux, including whether my district will continue with the hybrid model for middle and high school given that Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, announced Louisiana’s shift into Phase 3 (“with restrictions”) just as we are getting accustomed to the Phase 2 hybrid schedule.

Meanwhile, southern Louisiana is under yet another hurricane watch.

As of this writing, I do not know if I will be at school on Monday because of the approaching storm. Also, I do not know if next Monday, I will have a classroom full of students (with social distancing not possible) as opposed to the hybrid arrangement in which I am able to place student desks six feet apart. But here is what I do know:

The students at my school are overwhelmingly compliant with the mandate to wear masks.

I cannot tell you how relieved I am about their willingness to comply with the mask requirement, which the governor is keeping in place during Phase 3.

The governor’s order also includes adhering to social distancing guidelines, which is not possible if I must have 24 students in the room at one time and all 1,600 students on our school campus each day. Our state superintendent, Cade Brumley, assumes “more students” will “return to campus” as we “transition” to CONTINUE READING: Silver Lining: My Students Are Okay with Wearing Masks. | deutsch29

Anti-masking: The Subtext of White Privilege and Addictive Thinking – educationalchemy

Anti-masking: The Subtext of White Privilege and Addictive Thinking – educationalchemy

Anti-masking: The Subtext of White Privilege and Addictive Thinking

Whiteness and Anti-masking

It’s not surprising that the population who refuse to accept the full scope of Covid19, the anti-masker group, intersect with the same population who own and deny their White Privilege. It’s not emanating from communities of color. It’s not emanating from non-Western countries. It’s as white [1] and “Ameruh-can” as Apple Pie. That is because to accept either, to concede the reality of this pandemic or one’s own privilege, is to then require that person to act, to require a change in their behavior, or to moderate their own “rights” (or freedoms) for increased responsibility for others. When we wear a mask, we are saying “I acknowledge the effects my body and behavior have on others, and I take responsibility for that effect. I am willing to change myself to help those around me.” Most of us do share community obligations everyday … but it’s by choice of group affiliations and institutional memberships. Yet, Covid19 has demanded we accept that fate in relationship to people with whom we might not have ever cared or considered before now. It forces us to widen the scope of who or what must matter to us. I concur with Indi Samarajiva who argued, “It’s largely white people that won’t wear masks, for reasons of whiteness. If that’s not you then congratulations, welcome to the human race. Be whatever equal identity you want, but white power is out.” The lottery (“will I or wont I get sick?”) of Covid19 that preys CONTINUE READING: Anti-masking: The Subtext of White Privilege and Addictive Thinking – educationalchemy

From anti-vax to anti-mask: School districts brace for parent resistance

From anti-vax to anti-mask: School districts brace for parent resistance

From anti-vax to anti-mask: School districts brace for parent resistance

SACRAMENTO — California’s anti-vaccine movement has a new target: masks.

The same parents who loudly opposed school vaccine requirements in Sacramento last year are turning their attention to mask recommendations that districts are considering as they figure out how to send kids back to the classroom in the middle of a pandemic.

The anti-vaccine movement has seized on mask orders and stay-at-home restrictions as similar infringements on their bodily autonomy and constitutional rights. Those arguments could complicate matters when school returns in the fall, as activists become a vocal force in opposing new mandates on student facial coverings and other preventative efforts.

“Anti-vaxxers are morphing into the anti-anything movement. It’s clear to me that some of them are going to have their children show up to schools without masks to prove their point and poke the bear,” California Assembly Education Chair Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) said in an interview. “I don't know what authority schools will have.”

At a June legislative hearing in Sacramento on school reopening, parents wore shirts that said “Make pharma liable again” and “I don’t want a flu shot!” They voiced concerns about unfounded impacts of masks on children being able to breathe and the potential for a Covid-19 vaccine requirement down the road.

Christina Hildebrand, president and founder of A Voice for Choice, a California organization that opposes childhood vaccine requirements, said parents are against mask rules in school because of potential for detrimental social-emotional and educational impacts, like an “ingrained fear of contagion" and an inability to socialize.

“Wearing an improperly worn cloth mask is likely to have little positive additional health impact on children vs. the detrimental social, emotional and potential health issues of wearing a mask for 7-8 hours a day,” Hildebrand said in an email. CONTINUE READING: From anti-vax to anti-mask: School districts brace for parent resistance