Chantel Rodrigues

Staff writer

Cvr5570@psu.edu

As of September 7th, 2021, the mask mandate went into full swing for Pennsylvania. It required teachers, students, and staff grades K-12 and daycare facilities to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status, which has seemed to fuel a fierce debate for parents and medical staff statewide. 

The loophole which allows students to come to school without a mask freely and have no obligation to produce a medical note made it easier for numerous students throughout Pennsylvania school districts not to attend classes. Many children, parents, and faculty are left feeling unsafe about those decisions. The mandate had included those students who were exempted by claiming it would cause or worsen a medical condition they had. 

Some parents are disputing the effectiveness of masks altogether, while others are claiming their child has medical conditions that prohibit them from wearing a mask or simply do not want to wear one. 

Across PA, some school boards in different counties permit their students to still attend classes with a parent signature note stating why they aren’t wearing one. Although there is no obligation to bring forward a medical excuse, many have taken to not providing one and not sending their kids to school with a mask. 

Some parents are even taking a radical approach by having their primary physicians lie on school forms and say their child can’t wear a mask.  

Dr. Todd Wolynn from Kids Plus Pediatrics says their phones have not stopped ringing since the masking mandate was made official.

“People say, ‘Can you just sign this?’ Dr. Wolynn said. Of course, we aren’t doing that unless there’s a medical reason”.

The doctors and staff are refusing to service any requests or demands of their patients that are unethical and where the patient does not have a plausible medical condition preventing them from wearing a mask. 

“Our staff is getting beaten up, verbally threatened, ‘I’m gonna come down there and bravado and bully people around,” Wolynn continues. 

In PA, doctor offices continue to write medical excuses for children under specific and rare cases such as autistic spectrum disorders or sensory processing issues. The staff of these medical offices will not give in to parents who harass their employees. 

The importance of masking and keeping classrooms filled with students is what Erie News Now contributor Dr. Becky Dawson wants to reiterate to families. 

“We have to start thinking as a group, as a community, as a team that we can’t just be thinking about our individual comfort at this time,” Dr. Becky Dawson explains.

The ultimate goal is to keep the children in school and prevent a complete shutdown. She wants families to come to terms with it; yes, the mask is annoying and has gotten in the way of face-to-face interactions, especially for children, but without them will only spread coronavirus further and faster.  

It’s such a small sacrifice to make to keep everyone safe and control the virus.