Thread by @KGLiebowitz

Some thoughts on prevalence and prevention....
I have a child with #celiacdisease. Global prevalence 1-2%
That means, even if undiagnosed, out of 1000 ppl, 10-20 of them will have #celiac
It's too many to be considered a "rare disease"
But not enough to be on everyone's radar
1/

There are a lot of kids with "something" but not a lot of kids with each "something." So if you add up all the kids w diabetes, celiac, cancer, cardiac disease you get to a bigger number
But each of these problems? Not huge
And - we can't really prevent most of these diseases.
2/

The burden of disease management falls on kids & their families
We don't serve #glutenfree food to everyone (except in my house!)
Or make sure foods have a low glycemic index
Or test to prevent spread of viruses that can wreak havoc on a compromised immune or cardiac system
3/

We don't do these things because they place an unnecessary burden on others.
In limited situations - with family, in a single classroom, in a shared office - the standard is different
But the community-wide standard has to be to meet the greatest # of needs
4/

This is at the heart of my opposition to masks
(oh, and that surgical & cloth masks don't prevent airborne diseases)
The reason N95s/KN94s should not be mandated for kids of any age - 0-25, we'll say - is that the burden exceeds the benefit
5/

A small # of at-risk kids should wear higher-grade masks & avoid interactions
These are the same ones who needed to be cautious before COVID
But all other youth should remain unmasked.
Benefit to gen pop must exceed risk, and that simply hasn't been shown in kids
6/

For those who claim I'm heartless: I'm not. Every death, every sick kid, every struggle is real. Every family in pain suffers
But every family living with #mentalhealth, #developmentaldelays, #learningloss, #socialisolation is ALSO suffering.
This suffering is real
7/end