{"id":1947317,"date":"2023-06-14T16:29:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T20:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-health-official-defends-forcing-2-year-olds-to-wear-masks-for-low-income-financial-assistance\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T16:30:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T20:30:36","slug":"biden-health-official-defends-forcing-2-year-olds-to-wear-masks-for-low-income-financial-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-health-official-defends-forcing-2-year-olds-to-wear-masks-for-low-income-financial-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden health official supports mask requirement for 2-year-olds to receive financial aid."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-health-official-defends-forcing-2-year-olds-to-wear-masks-for-low-income-financial-assistance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1947317&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0614\/99a75597-6368-4382-ab77-467b34c9c4ae\/audio.mp3?length=4484781&#038;duration=374\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Controversy Surrounding Mask Mandate for Young Children<\/h2>\n<p>Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra has faced criticism for defending a policy that requires 2-year-olds to wear masks in order to participate in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-health-official-defends-forcing-2-year-olds-to-wear-masks-for-low-income-financial-assistance\/\" title=\"Biden health official supports mask requirement for 2-year-olds to receive financial aid.\">low-income financial assistance program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acf.hhs.gov\/ohs\/about\/head-start\">Head Start program<\/a>, managed by HHS, provides education, nutrition, and parental engagement services for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">low-income families<\/a> across the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS implemented a rule mandating vaccinations and face masks for children aged birth to five years old participating in the program.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the policy argue that the low proportion of COVID-19 deaths among young children makes the mask requirement unnecessary. According to provisional figures by the CDC, children aged zero to 4 years old accounted for less than a tenth of a percent of COVID deaths, with other health conditions often contributing to these cases. The majority of COVID-19 deaths occurred in individuals over 65 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Critics also raise concerns about the potential negative effects of masking on children&#8217;s social and intellectual development. Facial expressions play a crucial role in human social development, and masks can hinder the clarity of these cues. There are fears that children growing up during the pandemic may experience long-term developmental and social issues.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4597544\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/07\/1.tagreuters.com2022binary_LYNXMPEI6D036-FILEDIMAGE-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>Furthermore, critics question the effectiveness of masks against COVID-19, highlighting that the virus is smaller than the spaces between mask fibers on a microbial level. Studies suggest that masking may have little impact on the spread of respiratory viruses like COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these concerns, Secretary Becerra defended the mask mandate when questioned by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), stating that it was essential in combating the pandemic and preventing further loss of lives.<\/p>\n<h2>Opposition to the Mask Mandate<\/h2>\n<p>Republicans have long pushed for the repeal of the mask mandate, arguing that it infringes on personal freedoms and imposes unnecessary restrictions on children. In April 2022, Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) introduced a resolution to end the mandate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe federal government should not be using taxpayer dollars to force children as young as two years old to wear face masks,\u201d said Joyce. \u201cIf parents or individual Head Start programs want to mask themselves or their kids, they have every right to do so. But the federal government should not insert itself into that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/listen-elon-musk-presses-robinhood-ceo-about-gamestop-fiasco-restricted-trading\/\" title=\"LISTEN: Elon Musk Presses Robinhood CEO About GameStop Fiasco, Restricted Trading\">decision-making process<\/a>, especially when children are the least at risk for COVID-19 but the most likely to suffer developmental setbacks from prolonged masking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Opponents of the mandate also highlight the negative impact of school closures and remote learning on students, particularly in low-income and rural communities. Loss of learning, lack of socialization, and increased rates of depression and suicide have been observed, underscoring the significant challenges faced by students during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>low-income families. Secretary Becerra emphasized the importance of mask-wearing for children&#8217;s safety and public health, stating that it was necessary to protect vulnerable populations. The policy aims to ensure the well-being of participants in the Head Start program, offering comprehensive support to families in need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1947319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[28648,7629,3620,4263,4964,4575,4808,5563,6097,9787],"class_list":["post-1947317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-2-year-olds","tag-aid","tag-biden","tag-financial","tag-health","tag-mask","tag-official","tag-receive","tag-requirement","tag-supports"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1947317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1947319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1947317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1947317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1947317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}