The Interim Report
Today is the day. The day when the nation learns of the unprecedented authority given the Teacher's union by the Biden administration. Republican members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Cornovirus crisis are releasing their own report on what they have learned. What I like to call the obvious as in what we already knew:
"Fox News previously reported in October on emails that showed the AFT and the National Education Association, the two largest teachers' unions in the U.S., received a copy of the guidance before the CDC released it to the public. On Feb. 11, 2021 one day before the CDC publicly posted the guidance, AFT's senior director of health issues, Kelly Trautner, emailed CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky asking her to insert the line: "In the event high-community transmission results from a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, a new update of these guidelines may be necessary."
The emails revealed that Walensky forwarded the email to Dr. Henry Walke, director of the CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response, who then revised the guidance in accordance with AFT’s request.
The emails also revealed that CDC officials coordinated an early release of the final guidance to the AFT before releasing it to the public.
The Republicans’ report Wednesday says the Biden administration provided the teachers' unions "unprecedented access to the policymaking process for guidance on re-opening schools."
"Documents and testimony show, however, that Director Walensky downplayed the degree to which CDC departed from past practice to allow AFT to affect the policymaking process. In fact, CDC allowed AFT to insert language into the Operational Guidance that made it more likely schools across the country would remain closed after February 2021," says the report.
The report features new testimony from Walke in a Feb. 18, 2022 interview, saying the level with which the CDC coordinated with the teachers unions was "uncommon," and that the CDC does not typically share draft guidance outside the agency.
The report states the Biden administration’s lawyers would not allow Walke to answer questions pertaining to why the CDC allowed this level of coordination with the teachers' unions.
"When Republican staff asked Dr. Walke questions to that effect, a Biden Administration lawyer instructed him not to answer," says the report. "Because lawyers for the Biden Administration prevented a key witness from explaining why the CDC allowed AFT to write key portions of its guidance for re-opening schools, there are still several unanswered questions. This matter should be investigated further."
The AFT’s edits were intended to make it more likely that schools would close to in-person learning, according to the Republicans' findings.
In a joint statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital, Republican Reps. Steve Scalise and James Comer accused President Biden of rewarding one of his biggest political donors while millions of children suffered from school closures."
https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-expose-apos-uncommon-apos-060527011.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
How much damage has been done to American children either forced to learn from home or forced to wear masks all day? What about the working families in which the terrible decision had to be made about the loss of income in order to stay home with children?
They were already caught, but now they are going to be exposed. It's just the beginning. Very soon Republicans will hold the gavels.
We are going to hold radical Joe accountable.
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CDC Director Walensky has already given testimony on this subject.
She must be held accountable as well.
gee, why are republicans so hesitant to assign blame to their incompetent asshole/hero that fucked up the pandemic response in the first place with his months of inaction?
No he didn't...and you can't provide any evidence to the contrary
Out of curiosity, Vic, how much harm does it do to children to wear masks, NOT "all day" as you said, but only while they're in school? Has there been a study by qualified individuals or organizations that indicates that hysterical comment is correct? I believe a lot of little kids got a kick out of wearing masks, and didn't want to take them off. I do think that having to be schooled at home could not possibly be as effective or beneficial as in the classroom for a lot of reasons, and will have caused real problems for the parents. It's too bad that universal proper lockdowns, social distancing, consistent wearing of effective masks and washing guidelines were not followed equally throughout the USA when it was necessary to do so, because that would most likely have cut the number of infections to a minimal fraction of what they are (now 80 million?) and the deaths negligible in comparison with what they have been, because then it would have been a short-lived inconvenience that would not have extended for years, but then, well, some things are more important, eh?
First let us examine the settled science:
"Summary : Children do not readily acquire SARS-CoV-2 (very low risk), spread it to other children or teachers, or endanger parents or others at home. This is the settled science. In the rare cases where a child contracts Covid virus it is very unusual for the child to get severely ill or die. Masking can do positive harm to children – as it can to some adults. But the cost benefit analysis is entirely different for adults and children – particularly younger children. Whatever arguments there may be for consenting adults – children should not be required to wear masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Of course, zero risk is not attainable – with or without masks, vaccines, therapeutics, distancing or anything else medicine may develop or government agencies may impose. "
Then the damage:
During April to October 2020 in the US , emergency room visits linked to mental health problems (e.g. anxiety) for children aged 5-11 increased by nearly 25% and increased by 31% for those aged 12-17 years old as compared to the same period in 2019. During the month of June 2020, 25% of persons aged 18 to 24 in the US reported suicidal ideation. While some of this may be related to the pandemic, we suspect that it is largely a function of our response to the pandemic.
One of the most starkly revealing and troubling observations come from Dr. Margarite Griesz-Brisson MD, PhD, who is one of Europe’s leading neurologists and neurophysiologists focused on neurotoxicology, environmental medicine, neuro-regeneration and neuroplasticity. She has gone on record stating: “The rebreathing of our exhaled air will without a doubt create oxygen deficiency and a flooding of carbon dioxide . We know that the human brain is very sensitive to oxygen deprivation.” There are neurons, for example in the hippocampus that cannot survive more than 3 minutes without an adequate supply of oxygen. Given that such cells are so sensitive to oxygen deprivation, their functionality must be affected by low oxygen levels.
Oxygen deprivation can cause metabolic changes and the metabolic changes that happen in neuronal cells are vitally important for cognitive functioning and brain plasticity and it is known that when drastic metabolic shifts occur in the brain, there are consequent changes of oxidative stress (cellular oxidative state) and these have a significant role in managing neuron functioning (we do not claim that masking would produce complete absence of oxygen of course).
The acute warning symptoms are headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, reduced ability to concentrate and reductions in cognitive function. Given that the development of neurodegenerative diseases can take years to develop, then what are the potentially deleterious effects of the use of masks, especially in children, when masks are used over the majority of their day? We and particularly parents, must consider this and weigh the benefits versus the harms. Are there benefits enough to warrant use relative to the potential harms? If the harms outweigh the benefits, then we cannot in good conscience advocate for mask use. Moreover, the continual and stressful impacts of masking (and school closures ) will also have a known and deleterious impact on the immune systems in children (and adults).
Other medical harms relate to the notion that children and adolescents have an extremely active and adaptive immune system, a system that must be challenged in order to retain functionality. Yet by severely restricting children’s activities because of lockdowns and masking (physical activity/fitness exercises are almost impossible whilst wearing a mask), we are probably hobbling their immune systems. Evidence indicates that regular physical activity and frequent exercise enhance immune competency and regulation .
A child unexposed to nature has little defense against a minor illness, which can become overwhelming due to the lack of a primed ‘tuned-up’ and ‘taxed’ immune system. A robust immune system shortens an illness as a consequence of the presence of preprogrammed anamnestic immunity. Preventing children from such interactions with nature and germs can and does lead to overwhelming infections and serious consequences to the health and life of a child. We might be setting up our children for future disaster when they emerge from societal restrictions fully and with no masks, to then be at the mercy of normally benign opportunistic infections with a now weakened immune system. This cannot be disregarded as we consider the consequences of our actions today in this pandemic and the questionable lockdowns , school closures , and mask policies.
A German-wide registry (not the optimal highest-quality study) used by 20,353 parents who reported on data from almost 26,000 children, found that the “average wearing time of the mask was 270 minutes per day. Impairments caused by wearing the mask were reported by 68% of the parents. These included irritability (60%), headache (53%), difficulty concentrating (50%), less happiness (49%), reluctance to go to school/kindergarten (44%), malaise (42%) impaired learning (38%) and drowsiness or fatigue (37%).”
Concerns are being raised regarding psychological damage and why a mask is not ‘just a mask.’ There is tremendous psychological damage to infants and children, with potential catastrophic impacts on the cognitive development of children . This is even more critical in relation to children with special needs or those within the autism spectrum who need to be able to recognize facial expressions as part of their ongoing development. The accumulating evidence also suggests that prolonged mask use in children or adults can cause harms , so much so that Dr. Blaylock states “the bottom line is that [if] you are not sick, you should not wear a mask.” Furthermore, Dr. Blaylock writes, “By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain.”
In sum, as mentioned, the optimal comparative research on harms has not sufficiently accumulated but what has been reported is sufficient to inform and guide us in our debate on the potential harms of mask use (surgical and cloth), especially in children. But we do have real-world evidence. While additional evidence will help clarify the extent of risk, the existing details are sobering enough and of tremendous utility as we consider the benefits versus the harms of mask use. Even the potential of minimal harm is enough to prevent justification of such use.
Remember, even Dr. Fauci told us in 2020 that masks are not needed and not effective as you may think it is (March 2020 with Jon LaPook, 60 Minutes ). Para ‘no need to walk around with one.’ Dr. Fauci was indeed telling you the science then, and the science has not changed. His statement “it is not providing the perfect protection that people think…” may have changed, but the science remains crystal clear on effectiveness, or lack of.
Those economic studies you're linking to has nothing to do with the efficacy of masking and has nothing to do with this AND IT'S NOT 'SETTLED SCIENCE'.
The damage you site - sounds like a bunch of bogus 'unsettled science', a bunch of nonsense.
We need some science. We never got any from the CDC.
Masks are not balloons - they are meant to allow passage of air but not the droplets that accompany the breath.
Of course.
But they are NOT used over the majority of their day. I stopped reading the bullshit at that point. To me that whole essay is just a grasping for justification for fucking up the containment of the virus. "The American Way" is why the spreading happened as quickly and as broadly as it did. There are other nations where people had enough common sense to contain the virus a hell of a lot better than Americans did. But then isn't America THE "EXCEPTIONAL" nation?
Morning Buzz.. life is back to normal here..only wear a mask on public transport, hospitals or aged care.
International travel is up and running and if people are vaccinated no isolation..(XX will be disappointed as the Gulag concentration camps for the unvaccinated are empty at the moment)..no more lock downs and everyone is back at school.
What I am seeing things are a bit grim over there... doubt lock downs will stop it now but does give hospitals breathing space to prepare again. We are averaging around 5 deaths a day in Victoria and infection rate is hovering around 10,000 a day in Melbourne.. NZ is now the basket case after slagging us off for ages.
A fourth vaccination is now being recommend which I will be getting as we head into winter..you and yours stay safe.
Good to see things are in control where you are and that you're okay. Some new cases not far from where I am, but people are being careful here. The upsurge is bound to be controlled in Shanghai as it was in Xi'an. Common sense and the good of the community takes precedence here, unlike certain other nations we know of.
Don't you mean the Fauci way?
But then isn't America THE "EXCEPTIONAL" nation?
It still is. You don't need to talk to the immigrants, (legal or illegal to know it) just look at how the world's second largest economy envies the American technology, medicine or even the federal budget. Think of Russia wishing they had a military like the US. Or the millions streaming over the southern border, which has law & order on the US side and drug lords presiding on the side they are fleeing. Many of them are simply looking for an economy that works, or a secure neighborhood, or maybe to live where one can say what one wants. As much as Barack Obama resented it, it is still true.
Ever notice that conservatives put the word “radical” in the first sentence of an article like they’re sprinkling catnip on it? For anyone who is trying to give an article an unbiased read it’s the indicator that your time would be better spent playing solitaire.
Ya! So true!
I fail to see what the problem is.
So some republicans are all upset and spending their time investigating bullshit.
What is it with all the attacks on public schools? ( No need to answer)
This seems like a big nothing. Who cares if they talked to the teachers unions. This is something that would have an impact for millions of kids all across the country and they are upset about them being talked to and consulted?
Would you rather they not be consulted?
And I am really not bothered by adding a sentence saying that things could change. Hell, that is the truth.
Who cares if they talked to the teachers unions.
But … but … they’re radical!
Unions are all radical to a certain mindset. They have a natural hesitancy to accept the word of the ruling class.
It is!
Cry me a river of hyperbole.
I gotta give it to ya, if at first your bullshit doesn't stick on the wall, you pick it up and spit it out again.