We don’t say this often, but this New York Times op-ed by Joseph G. Allen, director of the healthy buildings program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Healthand and
This so sane and helpful on masks in schools and other safety measures https://t.co/7tkyd5mt20
— Eliza Shapiro (@elizashapiro) August 30, 2021
First up, they ask, “what are we really trying to achieve in the United States?” as the idea of zero-Covid is long gone:
Couldn't agree more! 👏@j_g_allen
"We think much of the confusion & disagreement among scientists and nonexperts alike comes down to undefined and sometimes conflicting goals in responding to the pandemic. What are we actually trying to achieve in the US?" https://t.co/rJcA9ASucr— Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH (@JenniferNuzzo) August 30, 2021
And for some states, there might not be anything better to do:
"If the goal is to minimize severe disease, some states with high vaccination rates might already be there."https://t.co/5ZRPkQJ57c pic.twitter.com/CPPNX57unr
— Elad Gil (@eladgil) August 31, 2021
It really is long past time to state these goals:
This is exactly right, and to be honest, it's a particular problem among Democrats, who're letting stringent COVID policies stand without clear goals. https://t.co/StTCLQcLko pic.twitter.com/C8GSfdU8Hv
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) August 30, 2021
And they’re questioning if any of the restrictions really make sense any longer:
What the eff is the point of all these restrictions? The NYT is slouching towards the Great Barrington Declaration. https://t.co/YGET0l5IS0
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) August 30, 2021
They also asked why we’re 1. masking kids in schools and 2. if we need to even vaccinate kids at all:
NYT op-ed on masking and vaccinating kidshttps://t.co/p1dRyMXW6z pic.twitter.com/hUpXQwYtjs
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) August 31, 2021
One thing they’re concerned about is there are no off-ramps. Like, when does masking end?
“Any organization setting a mask mandate at this point… must pair that mandate with an ‘off ramp.’ Sleepwalking into indefinite masking is not in anyone’s interes and can increase distrust after an already very difficult year.” https://t.co/n2sL0hpOEN
— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) August 30, 2021
Yet, this is what’s happening:
"Sleepwalking into indefinite masking is not in anyone’s interests and can increase distrust after an already very difficult year." https://t.co/qTfKPlyYku
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) August 30, 2021