Leave mask decision up to parents

Earnestly considering if children should be forced to wear masks requires an honest assessment of the circumstances.

While each death is a tragedy, in general, COVID-19 is a minimal threat to children. There are over 75 million Americans under the age of 18. In that population, according to the CDC, there have been 335 deaths from COVID-19 of which about 50% had at least two comorbidities. The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity finds the chances of someone under 15 dying from COVID-19 at one in 1.2 million. Comparatively, the odds of being struck by lightning are one in 300,000. How can one dispassionately assess these facts and not reach the conclusion that children are overall safe from COVID-19?

Some supporters of forced masking acknowledge the minimal danger but contend, incorrectly, that masks are harmless. Professor Carter Snead of the Notre Dame Law School thinks that the "urge to 'mask up' has created a level of social anxiety that wasn't there before." Philosopher Pierre Manent wrote about the importance of face-to-face interaction saying that it "reveals (oneself) at once as a human being … To present visibly one's refusal to be seen is an ongoing aggression against human coexistence."

Others view children as generally safe from COVID-19 but emphasize their potential as transmission vectors. Articles in the British Medical Journal database show that young people have significantly lower levels of transmission compared to older populations. In the United States, effective vaccines are available for anyone over 18. An individual seeking protection from contracting COVID-19 can wear an N-95 respiratory mask regardless of vaccination status or masking practices of others.

The parent-child relationship is ancient and sacred. In honest consideration of the current circumstances and in respect of that relationship, the decision on masking children should be left up to the parents.

Bradley Williams

Mundelein