The Great Mask Off hits Ramona
Let me start off with saying Ramona Unified School District has done a wonderful job handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Has it had its quirks? Yes, absolutely. But all things considered, our kids were back in school at least two times a week since October, when other districts were full-time distance learning until very recently. This says a lot about how hard they worked to get our kids back into classrooms.
However, we face yet another obstacle in getting our kids back to normal life — masks and vaccines.
On Monday, May 17 Informed Parents of California hosted a statewide Mask Off event in of taking the masks off our children at school. Parents from over 35 school districts in California and a few in Las Vegas showed up at their district offices at 9 a.m., signs in hand, ready to show that some parents do not consent to mask mandates or vaccine mandates.
We want our children to get back to life as they once knew it, and enjoy being a kid again. More than 25 RUSD parents and their children rallied on the district office lawn Monday in of this cause.
The California Globe recently reported on the COVID pandemic in schools, saying, “Harvard Medical School Professor, Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician, and epidemiologist, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a physician, economist, and professor at Stanford Medical School, said in a recent Wall Street Journal op ed, ‘The young are at low risk, and children are at far less risk of death than from the flu. If authorities mandate vaccination of those who don’t need it, the public will start questioning vaccines in general.’”
In places like England, where COVID-19 numbers have been extremely high, BBC news recently reported, “John Simpson of Public Health England said, ‘It’s important to strike a balance between COVID-19 protection and student well-being.'”
Numerous studies have shown, time and time again, that the number of COVID-19 cases are low within schools.
Let’s all focus together on getting our children back in schools, five full days, and able to function in the most “normal” classroom setting possible, which is “mask free.” This way they can visually see and adapt to facial expressions and cues with their classmates and teachers, all while breathing freely. We ask that the RUSD Board of Directors and Superintendent Theresa Grace please stand with us in the months and fight for our children to be children again, and #letthembreathe.
For more information, visit the Facebook group “Parents against CDC guidelines for schools.”
Danielle Ehrlich
Common sense about COVID-19
I have avoided putting out a COVID-19 email or posting in a long time — even when I have argued, one-way, with the television, or read the internet material and argued with it.
Okay, let us get back to common sense and what we learned many years ago. A vaccine does not make you immune to something. In most cases it makes you more resistant to something. So I find the term “herd immunity” misleading. Stated efficacy (The ability to produce a desired or intended result — Google) of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines vary by age group, preexisting conditions, first or second dose, and many other factors.
While all have stated or been declared at over 90%, none have been declared 100% effective. Nor have any of these been declared “a once in a lifetime vaccine.” The duration of protection has yet to be fully determined.
Getting sick after the second shot? Possibility is a reality, probability is low. And the vaccine does seem to reduce the severity of the virus if you do get sick even after one shot.
Not a fan of wearing mask in public, my second Moderna shot was March 3. Not a fan of wearing an oxygen mask in an ICU either.
Spent the day at Disneyland on May 7. On the property from 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. and was wearing a mask probably 95% or more of that time. Meals, drinking, sneezing, changing to a new mask, etc., increased my risk of exposure. And I thank the 99%+ of the fellow guests and cast that were wearing masks and trying, as I was, as well.
While on active duty — 1975-1994 — I lived and visited numerous countries where many wore face masks on good days to protect themselves and others. I think this will most likely become some degree of “new awareness,” establishing a new level of normal in our society.
Wearing a mask 24/7 in public will not make me happy. However, I want tomorrow with my granddaughter, and tomorrow never comes because Tuesday is Monday’s tomorrow and then Wednesday is Tuesday’s tomorrow, etc. It is always the following day.
“Herd immunity.” Sorry, disagree based on common sense fact and science when it implies 100% protection and resolution.
— Rex Schildhouse
