Masking Children is Insane and Harmful

A new study from Nature.com notes a host of nasty viral hosts probably were living in your now discarded masks. (You got rid of those right?!).

Now you might recall that our friend and editor Jennifer Cabrera was first to report on some moms last year who send their kids’ masks to a lab to see what was on them. Do you recall how we found cow herpes on the masks?

This Nature.com study was larger and came to a lot of the same conclusions. As James Cintolo summarizes it: “…cultured masks contained up 94 bacterial colonies on the face-side, while 95% of 13 unique fungal genera were identified on the outer-side of masks. Some pathogenic findings; Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Aspergillus & Microsporum”

Ewwww…

It’s very possible your mask is making you sick.

Of course, if you’ve been reading these pages you’ve known this for almost two years. Recall the headline I love to trot out from a Santa Barbara Newspaper:

Our good friend Sai Medi - credentialed expert and proud Team Reality member had a masterful thread summarizing the damaging impact that masks have on us in discussing new California Department of Public Health mask guidelines:

California’s insane masking guidelines

(original tweet here)
CDPH has published guidelines on masking children which are not only contrary to the data but also fly in the face other governmental agencies They suggest KN94/5’s for children & N95s in “older kids”

NIOSH (national institute for occupational safety) does not actually approve any type of mask or respirator for children, for the obvious fact that they are untested in that population. Yet public health decided to mask children en masse, in an unprecedented public experiment.

Never mind addressing the effectiveness of child masking in any rigorous way, they go on and say masking cannot cause CO2 buildup. Their source? A single pediatrician. But what does the literature and actual data say?

Here is a study showing CO2 increase in nasolabial folds of children wearing KN-95s:

Here is another study showing increase in CO2 in both FFP2 (which is similar to KN95) and *surgical* masks:

Linked here is my full thread on masking and CO2. TL;DL: masking doesn’t effect oxygenation much but it decreases rate of expulsion of CO2 (which is a waste product) This causes the respiratory rate to increase and has been linked to measurable cognitive deficits:

Sai Medi @Saikmedi

Masks and CO2 🧵 (1/13) The following articles are all true. Masking doesn’t really effect gas exchange and oxygenation. A technically true statement, but one that has been used to gaslight the concept of gas exchange.

It’s astonishingly careless to insist that masks cannot possibly harm children when there is plenty of data showing that they could at the physiological level (not to mention hampering learning). Look how they try and wash their hands clean of any liability with this bit:

California wants to pretend masks: 1) are effective in curtailing respiratory viral spread at community level 2) are not associated with any measurable harms Maybe rational individuals in Cali will prevail, but don’t hold your breath.

Other Supports

Here are other sources nothing the serious harm that masks can have:

• New York Times: “Masks have encouraged anonymity and discouraged dialogue. “ 'People don’t know how to communicate anymore,' said Jazlyn Korpics, 18, a senior at Liberty. 'Everybody’s a robot now — their minds are warped.'

• WSJ: "Facial expressions are integral to human connection, particularly for young children ... Covering a child’s face mutes these nonverbal forms of communication and can result in robotic and emotionless interactions"

• Prof. Emily Oster: "The concerns here stem from the observation that the bottom half of the face is important for reading emotions, learning to speak, and learning to read. The theory behind this is compelling." "Masks are not a friendship bracelet"

• Video: "Thank you for not reaching out to the students for asking how feel about masks, because if you did, the majority of students would say they hate masks ... than you for allowing me to experience the anxiety of never seeing facial expressions."

• Video: "I felt like my entire life was falling apart, because of what this government did to young people"

• Pro-mask advocate. "Don't tell me 2 years of masking doesn't impact kids."

• New York Times: "Masks can impede communication"

• Boston Globe: "[Mask-free] students reported 'happier hallways,' 'contagious smiling,' and better class discussions. With fewer masks, English language learners and students learning foreign languages reported better communication."

• TabletMag: "Fifty-nine percent of U.K. teachers in April 2021 stated that asking pupils to wear masks made understanding them a “lot more difficult.” We know that when someone conceals their lips it’s harder to comprehend what they’re saying."

• SF Chronicle: "Every student is struggling with pronunciation/recognizing letter sounds. 'I am often the only adult they interact w that can articulate the sounds, but they can’t see my mouth.' It's especially hard on autistic students."

• German study: “Top German scientists have found that wearing certain types of face masks for long periods of time could result in potentially hazardous chemicals and harmful microplastics being inhaled deep into human lungs.”

• Rational Ground: “The resulting report found that five masks were contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi, including three with dangerous pathogenic and pneumonia-causing bacteria.”