Masking children is incredibly unnecessary, unscientific, and completely cruel. There is no evidence that asymptomatic children pose a threat to others or that the consequences of long-term mask usage in children is outweighed by the perceived benefit they provide to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, there is ample evidence that mandatory masks cause significant harm to young children both psychically and psychologically. Although virtual options were provided for some families many districts required parents to register for virtual options by certain deadlines that have since passed. That leaves many scrambling to make more preferable arrangements for their children. As enrollment rates fall and more parents reject the ultimatums given to them from public schools and health agencies, the education gap between students will continue to widen and negatively impact our society's future.
I am in support for choice in masks. Despite the high emotion from the public, the facts don’t lie. Kids are and were always at great risk from dying of the flu. 2.6%-3.2% depending on the year. Parents never had this type of hysteria when fly was killing the kids at 300% higher rate than Covid. Please check CDPHE website for stats. There are immunocompromised kids and there always has been. Parents have to worry about all illnesses with an immunocompromised child. Never have they asked for everyone to wear a mask. Covid isn’t even close to a great risk for kids. If you follow facts, you’ll make it a choice. Will kids always get sick in schools? Yes, it’s a fact. Is getting sick hard on kids and parents? Yes, it’s never fun and sometimes kids die. Will immunocompromised kids be at more risk? Yes, will most illnesses out there. Will we eradicate all illnesses? Not a chance, but we can let their immune systems works. Be kind, wash hands, stay home when sick.
I am writing to request to OPT OUT of mask mandates for schools. This issue should be a parent choice, or at least a school choice. We chose a private school for my 2-year old, and she was very excited to begin this year. This year is supposed to be all about socialization and learning social cues from her classmates and teachers, which cannot be properly done if faces are covered. This will have lasting impacts on our future generations if children continue to be separated, ostracized, isolated, and pitted against one another to support an agenda. It's been proven that cloth masks do not work, and kids this young don't wear them properly anyway. Please OPT OUT so our kids can experience some normalcy again and leave it up to the parents!
Dear Adams County Board of Commissioners,
I urge you to opt out of Tri County's mask mandate. This decision should be left to the individual school boards, & they should advocate for parents CHOICE to mask or not. Covid poses almost no risk to our children at all. 4.2m have tested positive for covid, total of .008% of them have died. According to CDC, 480 kids died from the flu in the 2018/2019 season; more than have died from covid in 1.5 years. No one suggested mask mandate then. The flu is MORE DANGEROUS to kids than Covid. Consider psychological damages, suicidal rates in adolescents, etc.. & you are still satisfied to place this burden on children without any reputable data? Colorado has had ZERO healthy children die from covid-19, only children with previous issues. Also the survey was very biased with 2q’s for 1q vs. masking. Please look at data that has not been manipulated. Unmask our children & leave it up to the school boards & encourage parents choice.
Please opt out of Tri County's mask mandate. This mandate is detrimental to their physical and mental well-being and takes away the right for parents to make their own decisions regarding their children’s health. Children are building antibodies & not high risk. Masks destroys their mental health and social skills. I think masking should remain optional and a choice that happens between the parents and their children. Allow us to choose. Allow us a voice! it is your job to represent THE PEOPLE of your area and not just your own personal opinions. Listen to your constituents!
Please allow districts to OPT OUT of the mask mandate imposed upon them, and give school boards and parents their right to decide what is best within their districts and schools. I live in Strasburg and my kids went to elementary school all year last year without a mask. There were very few covid cases and none that could be traced back to having been passed at school. Each school and district as well as parents should be given the right to decide what works best for them, and not have to follow a blanket rule set in place for all. All are not the same.
Expecting kids to wear masks for 8 hours a day is something most adults can't even do. Wearing for short times in the hallways is acceptable, but all day in a classroom is excessive. Children have more of a chance of dying from the flu than of covid, yet we have never worn masks for the flu. The reasons given behind masking now, make little sense, and districts and parents need to be given the choice to opt out. Thank you.
I am a vax parent of 2 in ADCO and I support mask mandates because: 1 Masks are there to protect those around the individual wearing the mask. My children don’t wear masks just for themselves; they wear it for their friend’s mom who has cancer and their buddy with T1DM. Part of my job as a mother is to teach my children that they have a responsibility to tolerate small discomforts for the benefit of others. 2. The risk of COVID to kids is not zero. Children with severe infection risk death, organ failure, etc... 3. We do not know about the long-term impact of COVID in kids. AAP now recommends that pediatricians monitor for serious complications even following asymptomatic infection. Our kids have sacrificed enough for adults who in the name of “freedom” and “personal choice” make us ALL less free by prolonging this pandemic. Children are resilient and are able to accommodate mask wearing at school. It’s time for kids to go back to school in the safest way possible: with masks.
I am writing asking you to OPT OUT of the mask mandate on children. This mandate is detrimental to their physical and mental well-being and takes away the right for parents to make their own decisions regarding their children’s health. The children in Strasburg school district have gone the entire pandemic with very little interruption of learning while not wearing masks. I have already written a lengthy email to the commissioners explaining in detail my reasoning for urging you to opt out of this horrible mandate. I know I am far from alone in this stance and want to remind you that it is your job to represent THE PEOPLE of your area and not just your own personal opinions.
I am requesting to opt out for mask mandate at SES. I have a 2nd & 4th grader in SES, they went without mask all year, not once were quarantined. School started 2 weeks ago, you now decide to mandate mask, which EVP shows no protection from covid-19. Our children flourished last year without MASK, SES followed protocols to keep our children safe & continued in classroom education. Last year at this time, covid-19 was on the rise, we did not have a vaccine, we were not as knowledgeable yet you still allowed SES to teach without mask. (which they successfully did) This year we have a vaccine, we are aware that masking isn't a preventative measure to covid-19, & have voiced our opinion which you are not listening to. I not only am a parent but also an RN that works covid-19 telephone triage since the pandemic started. Not ONCE have I sent a pediatric patient to the ED based off of symptoms. Children are building antibodies & not high risk. Allow us to choose. Allow us a voice!
Hello, I am writing today to ask Adams County to opt out of the Tri-County Health Department's mandatory mask mandate for ages 2-11. As elected officials, I hope that you listen to your constituents and represent the people.
1. Have you flown recently and been forced to wear a mask for 8-10 hours? As an adult, I can tell you that it was DIFFICULT. I felt like I couldn't breath. Now think about making our children feel that way day in and day out.
2. What is the effectiveness of cloth masks that the majority of people are wearing? I can tell you that with the mask mandate, my children were still coming home with colds and stomach bugs. I whole heartedly believe that they are solely serving as a security blanket and are not effective. What is effective, and the reason we saw low flu numbers last year, is the increase in cleanliness habits including hand washing, sanitizing of common spaces, etc.
Please allow us as parents to make the best choice for our children.
Please support the mask mandate for kids up to 8th grade. Any arguments opposing masks are based on Covid from last year and not accurate. The Delta Varient is more contagious and infecting kids at a higher rate. Many of those kids are hospitalized and kids with conditions like diabetes or asthma are left at risk. If we look at the current facts, you can not compare the past covid and current covid. In the first 2 week of school, we have been notified multiple times of groups of students and teachers being quarantined for covid. My middle and high school students have had friends exposed to covid through sports, dating and simple interaction and they know it was contracted at school. I do not believe cohorts are necessary but a mask is a simple thing that has no health risk but helps to keep the virus in check or lower the viral load. Surely possible lives lost deserve more consideration than a little discomfort from wearing masks or possibly stepping on someone "rights".
Please OPT OUT of the TCHD mask-mandate for those children aged 2-11 years. Please allow parents the right to choose, with their children, what is best for them and their family.
I would like the county commissioners to consider opting out of the TCHD mask mandate in favor of giving the control to the local board of directors that governs the school. The school board for each district has a comprehensive body of evidence to evaluate what is the best decision for their individual district. This includes guidance from TCHD on recent COVID cases in the district. A one size fits all approach should not be taken. The Board also has a body of evidence to understand how the mandate impacts the highest risk students such as ELL, special education and other at risk youth. Masks may inhibit the learning environment for these higher risk populations so it is imperative that all the data be considered for a mask mandate decision. This is why it is imperative the Commissioners opt-out of the mask mandate, as Douglas and Arapahoe counties have, and leave the decision in the hands of the local Board of Education.
Absolutely not. Our children were not masked during a declared state of emergency, and they should not be now. As a counselor this destroys their mental health, social skills and increases sex trafficking and child molestation. Save our children. The government agencies are suppose to help us protect our children. Not damage them. I tried to use a face shield and they wouldn't let my son stay at school. Give me back my parental and American rights. This is not okay at any level. Please help us protect our kiddos, please. Please let Adams County choose if they can opt in or out. Thank you
Hello, I am a nurse on a non-critical Covid unit and parent to three Bennett students. I get to see both spectrums and I am writing to ask you to OPT OUT of the TCHD mask-mandate for those children aged 2-11 years. I think masking should remain optional and choice that happens between the parents and their children. Our district Covid numbers last year speak to the time and energy teachers and ancillary staff at the schools put into keeping transmission rates low. I think those who choose to mask their children should be allowed to do without discrimination or judging, and likewise those of us who strongly oppose the mandate. Our survey results were strongly against a mandate being opposed onto the Bennett/Strasburg schools. Listen to your constituents! In addition to this, there are strong data that show cloth masks do not protect against the transmission of Covid. These comments are overwhelmingly in support of the commissioners OPTING OUT of the mandate. I support this.
Please let families have the right choose regarding mask! A mandate is NOT okay. Let the kids go back to school with some normalcy. I do not want my 2 and 4 year old going to their small Preschool/PreK school with masks!
Please at minimum allow private schools and childcare centers to decide in partnership with parents how to handle mask mandates in their own schools. It is such gross overreach for the county to dictate what parents and private facilities need to do. We choose to privately educate our children so that we can have a partnership with their school, as parents, to make educational and developmental decisions for our kids. And in general, I will continue to make medical decisions for my children as is my right as their mom. Please take the time to consider how a blanket mandate does not make sense for all and assist in finding a solution that protects parents rights as well as the rights of private operating schools and centers.
As a parent of a 1st grader at Strasburg Elementary I am highly opposed to the mask mandate that TCHD imposed on all school districts. We are in a rural area of Adams County and our situation is different and should be treated differently than other parts of the county. The decision to OPT OUT should be left to our elected school board, not an UN-elected private entity like TCHD. Our school district successfully navigated through the pandemic last school year without a mask requirement for our youngest learners, all before a vaccine was even available, and I trust them to do the same this year. My son has a speech and developmental delay and communicating in normal circumstances is difficult, putting a mask on him at this point will have an immense detriment to his education. I would never suggest taking the choice away from parents and children that choose to wear a mask, why is it ok to take that choice away from parents and children that have very strong arguments against it?
I am a healthcare worker that believes parents should have a right to CHOOSE to mask or not mask their child. You are using anecdotal evidence and "what ifs" to use this mask mandate. My friends daughter is currently fighting bacterial pneumonia that was caused from her mask and wearing it all day long. Who is going to pay for her medical bills? There are several peer reviewed studies stating that masks do not block out the virus. Stop using FEAR to drive these mandates. https://rationalground.com/dangerous-pathogens-found-on-childrens-face-masks/
Since you are taking the advice of the AAP: Here is a study directly from their website (Talk about contradiction?)
https://hosppeds.aappublications.org/content/hosppeds/early/2021/05/18/hpeds.2021-006084.full.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2ZkO5pPr_I_TQahRCeCRHzobBELxa6eODn-xlYlOVkR72Fneqkydhc8lA
Masking children is incredibly unnecessary, unscientific, and completely cruel. There is no evidence that asymptomatic children pose a threat to others or that the consequences of long-term mask usage in children is outweighed by the perceived benefit they provide to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, there is ample evidence that mandatory masks cause significant harm to young children both psychically and psychologically. Although virtual options were provided for some families many districts required parents to register for virtual options by certain deadlines that have since passed. That leaves many scrambling to make more preferable arrangements for their children. As enrollment rates fall and more parents reject the ultimatums given to them from public schools and health agencies, the education gap between students will continue to widen and negatively impact our society's future.
I am in support for choice in masks. Despite the high emotion from the public, the facts don’t lie. Kids are and were always at great risk from dying of the flu. 2.6%-3.2% depending on the year. Parents never had this type of hysteria when fly was killing the kids at 300% higher rate than Covid. Please check CDPHE website for stats. There are immunocompromised kids and there always has been. Parents have to worry about all illnesses with an immunocompromised child. Never have they asked for everyone to wear a mask. Covid isn’t even close to a great risk for kids. If you follow facts, you’ll make it a choice. Will kids always get sick in schools? Yes, it’s a fact. Is getting sick hard on kids and parents? Yes, it’s never fun and sometimes kids die. Will immunocompromised kids be at more risk? Yes, will most illnesses out there. Will we eradicate all illnesses? Not a chance, but we can let their immune systems works. Be kind, wash hands, stay home when sick.
I am writing to request to OPT OUT of mask mandates for schools. This issue should be a parent choice, or at least a school choice. We chose a private school for my 2-year old, and she was very excited to begin this year. This year is supposed to be all about socialization and learning social cues from her classmates and teachers, which cannot be properly done if faces are covered. This will have lasting impacts on our future generations if children continue to be separated, ostracized, isolated, and pitted against one another to support an agenda. It's been proven that cloth masks do not work, and kids this young don't wear them properly anyway. Please OPT OUT so our kids can experience some normalcy again and leave it up to the parents!
Dear Adams County Board of Commissioners,
I urge you to opt out of Tri County's mask mandate. This decision should be left to the individual school boards, & they should advocate for parents CHOICE to mask or not. Covid poses almost no risk to our children at all. 4.2m have tested positive for covid, total of .008% of them have died. According to CDC, 480 kids died from the flu in the 2018/2019 season; more than have died from covid in 1.5 years. No one suggested mask mandate then. The flu is MORE DANGEROUS to kids than Covid. Consider psychological damages, suicidal rates in adolescents, etc.. & you are still satisfied to place this burden on children without any reputable data? Colorado has had ZERO healthy children die from covid-19, only children with previous issues. Also the survey was very biased with 2q’s for 1q vs. masking. Please look at data that has not been manipulated. Unmask our children & leave it up to the school boards & encourage parents choice.
Please opt out of Tri County's mask mandate. This mandate is detrimental to their physical and mental well-being and takes away the right for parents to make their own decisions regarding their children’s health. Children are building antibodies & not high risk. Masks destroys their mental health and social skills. I think masking should remain optional and a choice that happens between the parents and their children. Allow us to choose. Allow us a voice! it is your job to represent THE PEOPLE of your area and not just your own personal opinions. Listen to your constituents!
Please allow districts to OPT OUT of the mask mandate imposed upon them, and give school boards and parents their right to decide what is best within their districts and schools. I live in Strasburg and my kids went to elementary school all year last year without a mask. There were very few covid cases and none that could be traced back to having been passed at school. Each school and district as well as parents should be given the right to decide what works best for them, and not have to follow a blanket rule set in place for all. All are not the same.
Expecting kids to wear masks for 8 hours a day is something most adults can't even do. Wearing for short times in the hallways is acceptable, but all day in a classroom is excessive. Children have more of a chance of dying from the flu than of covid, yet we have never worn masks for the flu. The reasons given behind masking now, make little sense, and districts and parents need to be given the choice to opt out. Thank you.
I am a vax parent of 2 in ADCO and I support mask mandates because: 1 Masks are there to protect those around the individual wearing the mask. My children don’t wear masks just for themselves; they wear it for their friend’s mom who has cancer and their buddy with T1DM. Part of my job as a mother is to teach my children that they have a responsibility to tolerate small discomforts for the benefit of others. 2. The risk of COVID to kids is not zero. Children with severe infection risk death, organ failure, etc... 3. We do not know about the long-term impact of COVID in kids. AAP now recommends that pediatricians monitor for serious complications even following asymptomatic infection. Our kids have sacrificed enough for adults who in the name of “freedom” and “personal choice” make us ALL less free by prolonging this pandemic. Children are resilient and are able to accommodate mask wearing at school. It’s time for kids to go back to school in the safest way possible: with masks.
I am writing asking you to OPT OUT of the mask mandate on children. This mandate is detrimental to their physical and mental well-being and takes away the right for parents to make their own decisions regarding their children’s health. The children in Strasburg school district have gone the entire pandemic with very little interruption of learning while not wearing masks. I have already written a lengthy email to the commissioners explaining in detail my reasoning for urging you to opt out of this horrible mandate. I know I am far from alone in this stance and want to remind you that it is your job to represent THE PEOPLE of your area and not just your own personal opinions.
I am requesting to opt out for mask mandate at SES. I have a 2nd & 4th grader in SES, they went without mask all year, not once were quarantined. School started 2 weeks ago, you now decide to mandate mask, which EVP shows no protection from covid-19. Our children flourished last year without MASK, SES followed protocols to keep our children safe & continued in classroom education. Last year at this time, covid-19 was on the rise, we did not have a vaccine, we were not as knowledgeable yet you still allowed SES to teach without mask. (which they successfully did) This year we have a vaccine, we are aware that masking isn't a preventative measure to covid-19, & have voiced our opinion which you are not listening to. I not only am a parent but also an RN that works covid-19 telephone triage since the pandemic started. Not ONCE have I sent a pediatric patient to the ED based off of symptoms. Children are building antibodies & not high risk. Allow us to choose. Allow us a voice!
Hello, I am writing today to ask Adams County to opt out of the Tri-County Health Department's mandatory mask mandate for ages 2-11. As elected officials, I hope that you listen to your constituents and represent the people.
1. Have you flown recently and been forced to wear a mask for 8-10 hours? As an adult, I can tell you that it was DIFFICULT. I felt like I couldn't breath. Now think about making our children feel that way day in and day out.
2. What is the effectiveness of cloth masks that the majority of people are wearing? I can tell you that with the mask mandate, my children were still coming home with colds and stomach bugs. I whole heartedly believe that they are solely serving as a security blanket and are not effective. What is effective, and the reason we saw low flu numbers last year, is the increase in cleanliness habits including hand washing, sanitizing of common spaces, etc.
Please allow us as parents to make the best choice for our children.
Please support the mask mandate for kids up to 8th grade. Any arguments opposing masks are based on Covid from last year and not accurate. The Delta Varient is more contagious and infecting kids at a higher rate. Many of those kids are hospitalized and kids with conditions like diabetes or asthma are left at risk. If we look at the current facts, you can not compare the past covid and current covid. In the first 2 week of school, we have been notified multiple times of groups of students and teachers being quarantined for covid. My middle and high school students have had friends exposed to covid through sports, dating and simple interaction and they know it was contracted at school. I do not believe cohorts are necessary but a mask is a simple thing that has no health risk but helps to keep the virus in check or lower the viral load. Surely possible lives lost deserve more consideration than a little discomfort from wearing masks or possibly stepping on someone "rights".
Please OPT OUT of the TCHD mask-mandate for those children aged 2-11 years. Please allow parents the right to choose, with their children, what is best for them and their family.
I would like the county commissioners to consider opting out of the TCHD mask mandate in favor of giving the control to the local board of directors that governs the school. The school board for each district has a comprehensive body of evidence to evaluate what is the best decision for their individual district. This includes guidance from TCHD on recent COVID cases in the district. A one size fits all approach should not be taken. The Board also has a body of evidence to understand how the mandate impacts the highest risk students such as ELL, special education and other at risk youth. Masks may inhibit the learning environment for these higher risk populations so it is imperative that all the data be considered for a mask mandate decision. This is why it is imperative the Commissioners opt-out of the mask mandate, as Douglas and Arapahoe counties have, and leave the decision in the hands of the local Board of Education.
Absolutely not. Our children were not masked during a declared state of emergency, and they should not be now. As a counselor this destroys their mental health, social skills and increases sex trafficking and child molestation. Save our children. The government agencies are suppose to help us protect our children. Not damage them. I tried to use a face shield and they wouldn't let my son stay at school. Give me back my parental and American rights. This is not okay at any level. Please help us protect our kiddos, please. Please let Adams County choose if they can opt in or out. Thank you
Hello, I am a nurse on a non-critical Covid unit and parent to three Bennett students. I get to see both spectrums and I am writing to ask you to OPT OUT of the TCHD mask-mandate for those children aged 2-11 years. I think masking should remain optional and choice that happens between the parents and their children. Our district Covid numbers last year speak to the time and energy teachers and ancillary staff at the schools put into keeping transmission rates low. I think those who choose to mask their children should be allowed to do without discrimination or judging, and likewise those of us who strongly oppose the mandate. Our survey results were strongly against a mandate being opposed onto the Bennett/Strasburg schools. Listen to your constituents! In addition to this, there are strong data that show cloth masks do not protect against the transmission of Covid. These comments are overwhelmingly in support of the commissioners OPTING OUT of the mandate. I support this.
Can I please be called on to speak masks mandates
aktaylor@comcast.net
Please let families have the right choose regarding mask! A mandate is NOT okay. Let the kids go back to school with some normalcy. I do not want my 2 and 4 year old going to their small Preschool/PreK school with masks!
Please at minimum allow private schools and childcare centers to decide in partnership with parents how to handle mask mandates in their own schools. It is such gross overreach for the county to dictate what parents and private facilities need to do. We choose to privately educate our children so that we can have a partnership with their school, as parents, to make educational and developmental decisions for our kids. And in general, I will continue to make medical decisions for my children as is my right as their mom. Please take the time to consider how a blanket mandate does not make sense for all and assist in finding a solution that protects parents rights as well as the rights of private operating schools and centers.
As a parent of a 1st grader at Strasburg Elementary I am highly opposed to the mask mandate that TCHD imposed on all school districts. We are in a rural area of Adams County and our situation is different and should be treated differently than other parts of the county. The decision to OPT OUT should be left to our elected school board, not an UN-elected private entity like TCHD. Our school district successfully navigated through the pandemic last school year without a mask requirement for our youngest learners, all before a vaccine was even available, and I trust them to do the same this year. My son has a speech and developmental delay and communicating in normal circumstances is difficult, putting a mask on him at this point will have an immense detriment to his education. I would never suggest taking the choice away from parents and children that choose to wear a mask, why is it ok to take that choice away from parents and children that have very strong arguments against it?
I am a healthcare worker that believes parents should have a right to CHOOSE to mask or not mask their child. You are using anecdotal evidence and "what ifs" to use this mask mandate. My friends daughter is currently fighting bacterial pneumonia that was caused from her mask and wearing it all day long. Who is going to pay for her medical bills? There are several peer reviewed studies stating that masks do not block out the virus. Stop using FEAR to drive these mandates. https://rationalground.com/dangerous-pathogens-found-on-childrens-face-masks/
Since you are taking the advice of the AAP: Here is a study directly from their website (Talk about contradiction?)
https://hosppeds.aappublications.org/content/hosppeds/early/2021/05/18/hpeds.2021-006084.full.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2ZkO5pPr_I_TQahRCeCRHzobBELxa6eODn-xlYlOVkR72Fneqkydhc8lA
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372?query=recirc_mostViews_railB_article