Pediatrician Claims He Was Threatened Over Mask Mandate
A local pediatrician and Whitesboro school board member claims he was threatened physically by the owners of a local media company.
Dr. Jonathan Henderson claims he was "threatened by the owners of a local media company." Henderson did not mention the media company, but people who attended the board meeting say he was referencing the owners of KISS-FM, Ken and Grant Roser. Henderson made the statement on his Facebook page.
"Last night, I attended my board of education meeting as a board member, knowing full well there would be a spirited debate about masking this coming school year. I was threatened by the owners of a local media company, including with physical harm last night, both at the meeting and again this morning on their radio show.
But I’m going to keep posting anyway," Henderson said on Facebook.
The incident stems from the fact that the Whitesboro School District recenty decided unanimously that masks will be required to be worn by all students, staff, faculty and guests when school resumes in September. The decision has drawn resistance from some parents.
Henderson said that during the meeting, he "discussed findings of the study between the North Carolina public school system and ABC Science Collaborative, conducted over the last 15 months and involving over 1 million individuals. All study participants were required to follow universal masking precautions while in school last year."
He said, "Over the course of the school year, 7000 students and adults were COVID positive and attended school while infectious. That resulted in 40,000 people getting quarantined. Most importantly, only 363 children and adults acquired COVID-19 from in school spread following contact tracing. This illustrates two things that have helped shape my opinions with the upcoming school year as Delta has taken hold, we are seeing an increase in pediatric illness and admissions, and (at least in Onondaga County) 38% of the recent positive cases are in vaccinated individuals:
1) Schools should consider universal masking, regardless of vaccination status, in line with CDC and AAP recommendations. In-school spread was very low as a result of this mitigation measure.
2) The way in which we establish quarantine measures in those places where universal masking is followed should be revisited so that we keep children in school as much as possible."
Recently, New York State's Department of Health declined to offer guidance for school's return in the fall, but this week the State Education Department said they will be issuing guidance soon. The CDC has recommended that masks be worn in schools this fall and social distancing of 3 feet should be maintained.
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