Since January 3, wearing a mask has become compulsory from the age of 6. A new measure that is completely useless and even dangerous for Dr Gérald Kierzek. In an interview with Aufeminin, he explains to us why he thinks that, but also what are the consequences of such a decision on the children and the rest of the population.
It’s yet another measure taken by the government which is debating. This Monday, January 3, every children aged 6 and over have made their comeback with a new obligation to respect: wearing a mask. In fact, to limit the spread of Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, new health rules have been applied, especially among the youngest. Now they must wear the mask in many public places and outdoors.
For Dr Gérald Kierzek, health consultant for TF1 and LCI, it is a completely “useless and counterproductive”.
“It’s useless, because anyway children do not have serious forms. Masks do not prevent contamination 100%, and above all it is even a good thing that children are contaminated because that participates in the natural immunity of everyone “, he explains before adding:
“Children save lives, rather than kill them. Their immunity will save lives, and possibly stop the pandemic.”
“A deleterious measure”
The emergency doctor goes further. According to him, the obligation of wearing a mask endangers the health of children and the rest of the population. In the youngest, it is their psychological health but also their neuro-psychological development that is compromised. “When a child is developing he needs the expressions of others, their smile and this anxiety-provoking context is fundamentally changing the relationship with the other”, he asserts.
An opinion shared by several health professionals including Jean-Paul Stahl, infectious disease specialist and professor of infectious diseases at Grenoble University Hospital. Asked by France Info, the expert believes that “the psychological consequences on children can be significant”. It is also the observation of a study, published in December 2020 and conducted by Anna Tcherkassof, researcher in social psychology on non-verbal emotional communication, on nearly 600 observations of professionals. The survey, which covers the effects of wearing a mask on young children in nurseries, showed that toddlers were forced to less communicative, less smiling towards others, but also that they had difficulties in language interactions.
Lift measurements
To protect the youngest, especially in the face of the fifth wave, Gérald Kierzek recommends lifting the measures of isolation, screening, wearing of the mask and to stop feeding this anxiety-provoking context. “You have to do as usual, you are sick, you stay at home, you are not sick, you go to work or to school.”
He also recalls that two figures are important, and give some perspective: “those who die of the coronavirus, the median age is 85 years. The overall mortality rate is 0.1% “. A rather measured rate between 0.5 and 1% by WHO experts.
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