Families for Choice (FFC), a children's advocacy group, confirmed its support of the Alberta government's commitment to no mask mandates in K-12 schools. .Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Monday she will not support school boards reinstating mask requirements amid an uptick in respiratory virus-related illnesses. .READ MORE: Smith says mask mandates not coming back to schools.FCC, a children's advocacy group, formed in Calgary in the fall of 2021, now consists of more than 30,000 families..FFC said in a press release it's working with several high-profile medical professionals including two in Alberta — Dr. Ted Fenske, a clinical professor of cardiology at the University of Alberta (U of A) and Dr. Ari Joffe, a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care in the U of A, and brother to newly appointed Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Mark Joffe. .Infectious disease experts — Dr. Martha Fulford, pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University and Dr. Jennifer Grant, a medical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician at the Vancouver General Hospital — are also assisting FFC with messaging on the topic of masking mandates for children. .Fulford — although retired in May — due to staffing shortages, continues to assist as a locum physician in community hospitals in and around the Hamilton, ON area. .She has been speaking out and advocating for what she calls a "more balanced public health response" throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since May 2020. ."These massive lockdowns and masking mandates were unprecedented," Fulford told the Western Standard. ."These responses were not standard and caused a lot of collateral damage. My position with regard to masking children was clear early on. There was a significant age differential with [the COVID-19] virus in terms of who it affected.".Fulford said she advocated early on the elderly or those with co-morbidities were the ones with more risk of severe disease, not children and youth. She said looking at other areas in the world that responded differently to the pandemic was necessary, but overlooked. ."Why would we need to mask our kids here when, say, Scandinavian countries didn't?" she said. ."There are a lot of studies now that basically show school districts that masked compared to ones that didn't, there was no difference in outcomes." ."These mask mandates were not benign to children and those enforcing them have the burden of proof to show they are effective. They have to show they will work and not cause harm." .Fulford said now the focus has moved from COVID-19 to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza and the push for masking has returned. ."There is absolutely no evidence that universal masking helps," she said. "RSV is not new. We deal with it every year at this time." .Fulford said she believes there is a place for masking based on "who's wearing it, where and in what context," but said she feels the masking intervention for children "diminishes other aspects of a healthy life," and there is "no compelling data to suggest they are affective." ."In fact, if you look at the pandemic curves, you will see the biggest wave happened during Omicron when masking and vaccine mandates were in place," she said. ."The reality is, there are structural issues in our healthcare system that are leading to these surges. It seems to me we are wasting a lot of energy focusing on masking rather than coming up with more productive strategies. Masking mandates won't fix this issue." .FFC pointed to a recent UK study out of the renowned British Medical Journal, and highlighted how the study found face coverings have "little utility" in school-aged children. It also concluded the "potential harms associated with prolonged face coverings, which are likely to disproportionately impact both younger children and children with disabilities" include impeding communication and the understanding of emotions, and in younger children, significantly impeding speech and language development. ."Overall, given the real-world benefits of masking young children in educational settings appear to be limited, it seems likely any modest benefits are outweighed by the aggregation of harms, especially as these accrue over prolonged periods of time," wrote the authors of the study. ."Given the latest evidence suggests face coverings have little utility in young children in schools and preschools, alternatives to school and preschool masking ought to be [prioritized].".The group also makes mention most of the illnesses currently circulating are gastrointestinal related and spread primarily through touch and surfaces rendering masking not a key factor in the reduction of transmission. ."As parents ourselves, we empathize with any family caring for a sick child. Re-introducing mask mandates for children, however, is not the solution," said FCC in its release. ."Masks have not been shown to reduce the transmission of viruses such as RSV and influenza and, in some studies, masks may actually make things worse." ."Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public Health officer, stated in her November 10 update mask wearing 'might' make a difference for respiratory illnesses. In the absence of hard evidence, children should not be subjected to mask mandates.".FFC argues there is "no data to show [masks] help with the current viruses" circulating and "should not become our new normal." ."As a society, we cannot normalize masking children. The past two and-a-half years have disproportionately impacted children and we must now let kids be kids," said FFC. ."Families For Choice affirms its position that any child, family or staff member choosing to mask in school is free to do so and we support their choice."
