Last September, former Planned Parenthood CEO Dr. Leana Wen announced that we as a nation were “nowhere near” letting kids go to school without masks. By December, she was telling CNN that “cloth masks are little more than facial decoration,” and nothing short of an N95 mask would provide any protection. By February, she was saying that lifting mask mandates was the right step. By the time the State of the Union address rolled around in March, Wen was tweeting how great it was to see a packed room of leaders without masks.
Yes, she did a 180 on masking, but as she clarified, there were just two camps on masking; there was a third, the ones who were pro-restrictions before but realized that it was a different time now.
Now Wen is in the Washington Post explaining why she won’t be masking her young children as they head back to school this year.
Many on Twitter have asked–how did I go from being extremely cautious with #covid19 precautions for nearly two years to now resuming pre-pandemic activities, including not masking my young kids at school?
I explain in this @postopinions column 🧵: https://t.co/3UGUxWvCH7
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) August 23, 2022
But then came the extremely contagious Omicron variant, and it looked like it was impossible to escape infection:
The goal of containment was not reachable. This coronavirus is here to stay.
With this indefinite time frame, the benefit-risk of mitigation measures shifted dramatically. I was willing to limit my children’s activities for a year or two but not their entire childhood.
/6
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) August 23, 2022
Both of my kids are starting school next week.
Now that they are fully vaccinated, we do not plan to limit their activities.
And — like most parents in their school — we will not be masking them in the classroom.
/12
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) August 23, 2022
Recommended
I accept the risk that my kids will probably contract covid in school, just as they could contract the flu, RSV & other contagious diseases.
There is a trade-off. Masking has harmed our son’s language development. We do not wish to limiting our kids’ social interactions.
/13
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) August 23, 2022
But … last August the American Academy of Pediatrics tweeted that there weren’t any studies showing that masking impeded children’s language development. They didn’t say it didn’t … they just said there were no studies.
So she was OK with limiting her children’s activities “for a year or two,” and she was also for mandating that your child’s activities be limited too.
"Public health depends on public trust, "she says. "Public health depends on winning over hearts and minds. It's not enough to just have a good policy, you have to convince people to actually follow it." – @DrLeanaWen 7/27/21 — you have failed. Resign in shame.
— Adam Hintz (@AjaxAJH) August 23, 2022
A serious question. Why were you so concerned for your children? From early 2020, I concluded based on widely available data that the risk to my (healthy) children was infinitesimal. What made you think otherwise? I would genuinely like to know.
— Adrian Staub (@AdrianBStaub) August 23, 2022
Bc that wasnt what they wanted you to believe. The grift is up with these people and they know it.
— Walker (@walker4580) August 23, 2022
Fine, you do you and I hope it works out for your kid. But do we have to hear you proselyting on every major media outlet every week?
— Dave Pier (@davepierunc) August 23, 2022
Much ado about nothing serious
— Stefan Tibbs (@sleepyhd1998) August 23, 2022
A picture of a bag of cash would have been faster
— kawhifanfromtoronto (@jamiecam43) August 23, 2022
Fraud.
— ❌Snooterville❌ 🇺🇸 (@snooterville) August 23, 2022
I guess you had a hard time swallowing the backlash? Doubling and tripling down doesn’t equal redemption.
— Cathy (@cattzee3) August 23, 2022
Celebrity science at its best. I wonder how many people actually care…or is this just excuse for another opinion piece?
— Beverly K Kleiman ☮ (@KlBeverly) August 23, 2022
You stuck your finger in the wind and changed course. Admit it.
— Will Collier (@willcollier) August 23, 2022
TLDR: She doesn't actually practice medicine any more and her kids are in private school.
— drevil_bot (@DrEvilBot) August 23, 2022
That’s a lot of text to take an L
— Julian Pike (@alone_centrist) August 23, 2022
She’s actually taking heat from both sides — a lot of pro-maskers can’t believe she sold out and wants everybody dead.
Related:
Dr. Leana Wen’s take on returning to pre-pandemic normal sounds familiar to Bethany Mandel & others https://t.co/mT2TCp0euY
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 23, 2022
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