Do you want kids in schools? Want them to be safe? Then Beshear is right on masks.
For thousands of Kentucky children, the first day of school started with excitement, trepidation . . . and masks.
Yes, another start to school amid a flaring pandemic, only this time caused by many grown-ups’ willful disregard of the science. It’s not hard — if people won’t get vaccinated against COVID-19, and many Kentuckians won’t, then we must wear masks indoors.
Gov. Andy Beshear may have just signed away his chance to win re-election, but he did the right thing. The Delta variant is making more people and more children sick. Voluntary masking, as adopted by roughly two-thirds of Kentucky school districts, will not work. Universal masking, as Kentucky did last spring for a successful end to the school year, will.
His decision was bolstered by a new study out of North Carolina of 100 school districts — and nearly 1 million students —by two pediatric specialists at Duke University.
“Although vaccination is the best way to prevent Covid-19, universal masking is a close second, and with masking in place, in-school learning is safe and more effective than remote instruction, regardless of community rates of infection,” the authors wrote.
Children under 12 cannot be vaccinated yet. So we have to find a way to protect them, and masks, while not foolproof, are the best way. To Kentucky adults who are not vaccinated and protest masks: You can’t have it both ways. Our children must bear the brunt of our selfishness, and masks are a relatively painless way to do that. The places where masks will not be required? Places that have high vaccination rates, where hospitals are not filling back up with COVID patients.
Yes, our children are anxious. But not because of masks. Because they are living in a pandemic that has been far too deadly, and all they can see and hear are adults screaming about freedom rather than doing all they can to stop the disease.
We know this. We did it last year. Fayette County did a tremendous job of keeping kids safe, healthy and learning, which is, in the end, the real goal.
That COVID-19 has become so politicized, and thus continues its reign is a huge disappointment and frustration.
Yes, it would be good if Gov. Beshear would release more information about the efficacy of masks. Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, who is a vaccine proponent, unleashed a torrent of criticism on Twitter Tuesday night when he questioned whether Beshear had discussed the negatives of masks on children that some parents seem to feel strongly about.
“This is an inconsistent application of mandates, and all of this is being debated while we’re waiting on the Supreme Court to determine if Legislature has power on these issues,” he said Wednesday morning.
Certainly this has been incredibly difficult on local officials, like school boards. Maybe it will encourage more people to get vaccinated and thus lower cases and maybe some districts will be able to drop the mask mandate.
It would be nice if we could talk about this with more civility than we have so far. Westerfield’s initial tweet garnered an F-you from a Jefferson County school board member. Then there was Science Hill Independent Supt. Superintendent Jimmy Dyehouse who sent a voicemail message Tuesday evening to parents describing Beshear as a “liberal lunatic” for requiring masks.
Instead of listening to adults, we could listen to kids. The Kentucky Student Voice Team issued a pretty simple statement: “We strongly support the statewide mask mandate issued by Gov. Andy Beshear yesterday. It will ensure a return to the type of education experience we know and miss, and help disadvantaged and marginalized students receive the resources they need.”
We agree we want kids in schools. We agree we want them to be safe. Masks are the best way to do that. It doesn’t have to be this difficult.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 11:52 AM.