A recent letter (Herald, Jan. 29) “cites” a Brown University study and implores the Durango 9-R school board to end classroom masks because "mask-wearing is lowering our children's cognitive abilities and IQ upward of 23%!”
That statement is not in the study – but can be found in online hysteria. Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital published (2021) its early child development study of 672 healthy infants to 3-year-olds to document the adverse impact of multiple factors in the pandemic (i.e., less socialization, less playtime, more family stress, etc.) on critical early child development.
The study speculates that mask-wearing for or around infants may play a role, but that “unfortunately, we do not have (the data) to investigate the potential causative role of these factors.” The study acknowledges that it did not investigate the impact of mask-wearing by the study staff during toddler visits and assessments.
While the inability of infants to see full facial expressions may have eliminated non-verbal cues, young children born before the pandemic and followed through the initial stages, do not show a reduction in skills or performance, despite also completing the assessments with mask-wearing staff.
In short, the mis-cited Brown study does not advocate for or even speak to the changing of mask policy for older students. Instead, it seeks evidence-based guidelines of pandemic care for expectant mothers, and for early child development. Hopefully, the Durango 9-R school board will continue masking policy based upon factual assessments, including long-COVID risks, and not agenda-driven, second- and third-hand extrapolations.
Craig Olivier
Durango
