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Wu: No decision yet on bringing back mask requirement in BPS

Mayor Wu said today a decision will come "soon" on whether to require BPS students and staffers to don mask for the first couple of weeks of school in January.

Speaking on Java with Jimmy this morning, Wu said the issue is not just Covid-19, but the overall "tri-demic" of Covid, the flu and RSV. "I don't know a single person" with kids who hasn't been hit by one of the three of late, she said.

"Our priority is making sure our schools can stay open," she said.

She said she, School Superintendent Mary Skipper and Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutua decision want to avoid a repeat of last January, when the city came close to being unable to meet that goal, because Covid-19 numbers alone spiked so high that for a couple of weeks, one out of ten teachers were home sick and administrators returned to the classroom as substitutes.

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Comments

A lot of people will be furious and critical of the decision, irrespective of what they decide to do.

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We know masking is a tradeoff, particularly for children. If people are sick, they should stay home if they can and wear a mask if they need to go in public public.

But we shouldn't be impacting the developing mental health of kids with closing schools and unnecessary masks (particularly populations of kids that don't tend to wear them reliably enough to be effective anyway). We have the data now to show there isn't a lot of benefit for this population, and some notable harms.

Europe doesn't mask kids (nor often allow, let alone require, vaccine boosters) because it's not a stupid culture war issue there, as opposed to seeing what the data generally says about cost/benefit.

Where here it's the left's version of posturing, just like outright refusing to get the vaccine at all is for many on the right. Masking kids in schools is predominantly theater, and yet another flex for teachers unions looking out for themselves more than the wellbeing of kids.

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We have the data now to show there isn't a lot of benefit for this population, and some notable harms.

Please link to said data.

Meanwhile, there are decades of scientific literature that show that schools are huge epidemic factories when it comes to flu, justifying even partially effective measures. Here are two recent papers:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469206/
http://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/11/1/a038430.long

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You have been wrong more times than right for almost 3 years. Now will you please STFU.

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...right?

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impacting the developing mental health of kid

Assertion.

unnecessary masks

Assertion.

populations of kids that don't tend to wear them reliably enough to be effective

Assertion.

We have the data now to show there isn't a lot of benefit for this population, and some notable harms

Assertion.

Europe doesn't mask kids (nor often allow, let alone require, vaccine boosters)

Assertion.

Where here it's the left's version of posturing

Ad hominem, assertion.

Masking kids in schools is predominantly theater

Assertion.

yet another flex for teachers unions looking out for themselves more than the wellbeing of kids

Ad hominem, character assassination, assertion.

But you ain't lacking in confidence, I'll give you that.

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That's interesting.

Europe doesn't mask their kids, yeah, it's a thing. Google is your friend.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/03/masks-for-school-students-...

"So, one shouldn't state their opinion"

Also, in the department of reading comprehension, seems like thats a bit of a stretch and you may in fact be putting words in OPs mouth.

Fairly obvious that the response top post of someone going on about "conditional science", they've opened themselves up to ridicule for making assertions and ad hominem attacks.

Which of course they are free to do! And others are free to mock them for it.

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But anyway, llb was out of line and needed to be called out on it. Swirly made an intelligent counter (yes, it’s her field of specialty, but she it typically good on her counters) while llb “breaks things down” by referring to every statement as an assertion. That’s just laziness. It comes across as basically “shut up.”

If you claim someone is wrong, you have to prove it. You do this. I do this. Occasionally we do it to each other because there are differences of opinion. Imagine you posted your opinion on some issue or other and my response was to cut and paste each line and put “assertion” between them.

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llb

It's lbb, dipshit.

was out of line

Oh, you're the boss of uhub now, sea lion?

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Perhaps the next time I don't feel like adding any substance in a debate, I'll take a page from your style book.

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I mean you have to at least admit that Ibb did a bit more than basically say "shut up", right?

Europe doesn't mask their kids

If I spoke out of my ass without anything to back it up, I would expect others to rightly point out those were incorrect assertions. Especially if I was linking to a Google search that directly contradicts those statements.

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If whoever wrote anything other than the word "assertion" over and over again, I never would have commented.

Here's something on masking in schools in Europe.

And another.

And for good measure, an article from a reliable source noting that the "science" behind masking in schools may be flawed.

Or I just write "assertion" as a counter, since that's what passes for discourse nowadays.

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So, one shouldn't state their opinion

Only a sea lion would pretend that assertions presented as facts are the same thing as opinions.

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"Where here it's the left's version of posturing,..."

Is it posturing if it works? What do you have against school teachers @jorf?

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I think I’m confident I know what the decision will be.

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In a message to the school community, officials said masking will be an "ask and expectation" but not a mandate for a total of eight school days, beginning with the return to classes on Jan. 4 and lasting through Jan. 13.

https://www.wcvb.com/amp/article/boston-public-schools-adopts-temporary-...

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