Editor, The Smithfield Times:

A wise man once told me every solution leads to another problem. Mask and social-distancing mandates during COVID-19 interrupted the normal circulation of seasonal viruses, causing an immunity gap, especially among children. We are now experiencing first-hand the unintended consequences of these mandates since they were lifted.

Many pediatric hospitals nationwide are at or near capacity with an “unprecedented” outbreak of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Cases are up 300% compared to a typical season in some places, according to NBC News’ Today show. Meanwhile, flu-related hospitalizations nationwide are at the highest level since 2010, according to the CDC.

Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chris Foley said regional hospitals are swamped with respiratory illness cases, including RSV, with flu cases basically tripling in the past few weeks, according to WVEC.

While even one death from any virus is too much, John Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center data shows COVID-19 has an overall 98.9% survivability rate in the United States. Among 0-17 year olds, there were 1,314 deaths out of 15,658,253 COVID-19 cases from Jan. 1, 2020, to Oct. 25, 2022, according to statista.com — 0.008% of all cases, or a 99.99% survivability rate.

By contrast, the CDC estimates 500 children die every year from RSV. The CDC estimated 434 flu-related deaths among 0-17 year olds during the 2019-20 season.

With 98,097,756 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 16, or nearly one-third of the U.S. population, statistics suggest mask mandates did little to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 over the past two years, and may prove to cause more harm than good in the long run.

 

Joe Naneville

Windsor