As we are now well into July, plans for the 2021–2022 school year are ramping up.  For many school systems, the first day of school is less than one month away.  Given this, and in order to make sure that the government schools maintain as much control as possible over American children, the COVID-worshiping media are again ramping up the Wuhan Virus panic porn.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) is no exception.

With an opinion piece entitled, "To mask or not to mask: Why's that even a question in schools?," the AJC's chief education writer, Maureen Downey, bemoans the fact that "[a]lmost all Georgia school districts will leave it to parents to decide whether their kids wear masks when they return to school next month."  In addition to its authoritarian tone, Ms. Downey's lengthy column is rooted in three false premises: 1) unvaccinated children are in danger from the Wuhan Virus, 2) there's a "new COVID variant" that places children in new danger, and 3) masks work.

There's a mountain of data (much of it chronicled here and here) that reveal that masks and lockdowns are unnecessary (and often dangerous) when it comes to slowing or preventing the spread of the Wuhan Virus and that children — vaccinated or not — are in very little to no danger from the Wuhan Virus.  As far back as August of last year, the data made clear that children were in virtually zero danger from the Wuhan Virus.

Numerous school districts across the U.S. — especially private schools, and especially those in GOP-led states — did not shut down, did not mandate masks or social distancing, and had no Wuhan Virus–related problems.

Ms. Downey also pushes the false notion that, because of the close contact that most sports require, high school athletes are in more danger from the Wuhan Virus.  On this she writes, "However, the findings do suggest athletics, especially indoor, pose a higher infection risk than outdoor spaces or classrooms.  'We need to have special policies in place to protect athletes,' [Zimmerman] said."

We most certainly do not need "special policies" to protect athletes from the Wuhan Virus.  Data from the NFL make this clear.  Earlier this year, the NFL and the CDC published a paper that showed that in over 256 NFL games, and for well over 1,000 practices (probably closer to 2,000) involving 32 teams and over 2,000 players, there was zero evidence of "on-field transmission."  In addition, as we already well know, even if kids "get infected" (have a positive test result), they are very unlikely to get sick.

My 12-year-old son and my 14-year-old daughter both played basketball this past season.  There were few to no masks at every game, in every gym (often the gyms were packed; I have photographic and video evidence), and we had no Wuhan Virus–related issues throughout the season.  Two of my sons and my daughter competed in a karate tournament in early February of this year.  It was held in a local high school gym.  There were hundreds (approximately 500) in attendance (again, I have photographic and video evidence).  Again, there were no Wuhan Virus–related issues.  This has played out countless times across the U.S. (including Super Bowl parties) where the Wuhan Virus fear porn has been ignored.

To further the false narrative that children are in significant danger from the Wuhan Virus, Ms. Downey cites CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.  Downey declares, "At a recent symposium, she [Walensky] said COVID-19 has resulted in 471 U.S. pediatric deaths, more than the flu in recent years."  This is the second time in recent weeks that the AJC has reported this number.

As of about two weeks ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association reported 336 child deaths from COVID-19.  What's more, these numbers are for nearly 1.5 years.  That's a far longer period than death totals given for a typical flu season.  According to the CDC, the 2018–2019 flu season saw approximately 480 deaths due to influenza in children.

The AJC also wants the public frightened over the much-hyped "Delta variant" of the Wuhan Virus.  Ms. Downey's piece is subtitled "With a new COVID variant and no vaccine for young kids, study affirms masks matter."  On the date of this writing (7/8/21), the lead story on the front page of the AJC website begins, "As a highly contagious delta variant spreads in Georgia, the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations is ticking upward, particularly in pockets with low vaccination rates, state data shows."

Yet CDC data continue to showcase rates across the U.S. in every age bracket near zero:

Hospitalizations across the U.S. also remain significantly lower:

(Go here to see the hospitalization rates for various age groups across the U.S. and every U.S. state.)

Almost all that we hear from the fear porn peddlers in the left-wing media of the Delta variant is that it is "highly contagious" or "easily transmissible."  Tony Fauci himself said, "The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19."  First of all, we likely will never completely "eliminate" the Wuhan Virus.  Secondly, we are told that the "vaccines" protect against the Delta variant, and more importantly, the Delta variant is significantly less lethal than the original virus.  Again, this is especially the case with children.

In pushing her mask-up agenda, Ms. Downey references a "new study out of North Carolina."  Downey writes, "Reaffirmed by results in several other states, the North Carolina data showed masks were a key factor in limiting the spread of the coronavirus in school buildings." Downey quotes extensively from "the study."

First of all, it isn't "a study," but rather a "report" on an "analysis" of data.  The report does declare, "Wearing masks is an effective strategy to prevent in-school COVID-19 transmission."  However, the information in the report makes no indication that "COVID-19 transmission" in schools with mask mandates was compared to those without mask mandates.  There has been plenty of analysis of data comparing areas with mask mandates to those without.  As I have noted often, the data do not support the position of the mask apologists.

In early May, Scott Morefield at Townhall reported on data from Brown University professor Emily Oster.  Morefield writes:

In areas of high community transmission, masked school students saw a case rate (defined here as daily cases per 100,000) 37 percent higher than non-masked school students, or 19 cases per 100,000 in 'no masks required' schools vs 26 in 'masks required' schools. Even worse, staff experienced a case rate 84 percent worse in masked schools, at 19 cases per 100,000 in 'no masks required' schools vs 35 in 'masks required' schools. 

Also, even if children in schools are forced to mask up, it is almost always a clownish activity.  Given that children almost universally hate the masks, they constantly have their hands on them, and if they have them on, they almost never wear them properly.  Noted epidemiologist Carl Heneghan pointed this out as he made the case in April of this year against mandating masks in schools.

The AJC is the largest newspaper in the southeastern U.S.  With the tremendous decline of U.S. newspapers, that doesn't mean what it used to.  Nevertheless, like most others in the left-wing media, for over a year now, the AJC has pushed the lockdown narrative when it comes to schools and such.  To do this, numerous times, the AJC's reporters have pushed false narratives and fake information.

Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America.
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Image: qimono via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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