Thread by @erichhartmann

Apologies it took a few days to compile 🙂 but here are some highlights of the @OpenschoolsUS / @AFTunion #MaskPanel with @rweingarten @TracyBethHoeg @PatriceHarrisMD @IrwinRedlenerMD and @DrJBhattacharya 👇

One of the main reasons we held this important #MaskPanel discussion on Masks, COVID, Kids & Schools is because many experts have not been allowed to share their opinions and POV, w basic science and immunology being censored as "disinformation". @TracyBethHoeg address this here:

Here’s an interesting exchange: @TracyBethHoeg @PatriceHarrisMD @DrJBhattacharya and even @IrwinRedlenerMD point out that kids don’t wear masks well. @PatriceHarrisMD implies that we need better enforcement in schools: #MaskPanel

Folks, when even @IrwinRedlenerMD thinks the @CDC guidance has been “horrendous”, we got problems. And, by his own admission, he talks to the leadership frequently… #MaskPanel

Slightly OT for the #MaskPanel discussion, but important: @IrwinRedlenerMD calls out “anti-vaxxers” and @PatriceHarrisMD pushes back on that epithet, pointing out that things are not that simple when talking to and *listening to* real people in her community:

One of the hidden highlights of this important #MaskPanel discussion was the fact that neither @PatriceHarrisMD @IrwinRedlenerMD or @rweingarten seemed to know that many public schools are still forcing kids to wear masks OUTSIDE. This should be an easy win for us all *ASAP:

Here we have @PatriceHarrisMD talking about the fact that she doesn’t think we’ll ever return to “normal”, and in fact she thinks this is a *good thing*. She says that she will continue to wear masks “for the flu” : #MaskPanel

Then we have @DrJBhattacharya responding to @PatriceHarrisMD by pointing out that masks shouldn’t be used for flu because of the 14 randomized studies prior to 2020 which showed no efficacy for masks vs influenza, even in controlled healthcare settings: #MaskPanel

This is the PART 1 of soundbite that was most mentioned in our comments: @IrwinRedlenerMD decries the “politization” of the COVID & Masks, Kids & Schools discussion: #MaskPanel

Here is PART 2 of @IrwinRedlenerMD’s take on the politization of COVID, masks and kids: #MaskPanel

Here @DrJBhattacharya points out something very important: we do not have unlimited energy and resources as a society, and focusing on low-yield, polarizing “solutions” is wasteful, counterproductive and corrosive: #MaskPanel

Thanks to @TracyBethHoeg for encapsulating the frustration parents across the country feel re this entire issue: we have been maligned, censored, talked-down-to, and even attacked for our rational POV: #MaskPanel

Next, @DrJBhattacharya addresses the issue of the loss of trust in our public institutions due to their ongoing bungling of this issue, flip flops, hypocrisy, stubborn refusal to follow science and data, and the unhelpful treatment of people who are rightly skeptical: #MaskPanel

And here we have @rweingarten asking a great #MaskPanel question about how to revive public trust in science, and our public health institutions. @TracyBethHoeg points out that the answer may seem radical, but is in fact very simple #transparency

This 👇 exchange may sum up the entire national #UnMaskOurKids debate: @TracyBethHoeg points out that the ‘burden of proof’ has been turned 180º, @IrwinRedlenerMD claims that’s necessary in a crisis, and @DrJBhattacharya points out that’s not how science works: #MaskPanel

Finally, it’s worth noting that this #MaskPanel was very well-received. The only pushback was from a few randos *demanding* that @rweingarten and @AFTunion shut down the discussion and stop the panel immediately. I honestly can’t imagine ever being someone who does this 👇