In AZ, mask-mandated schools have half the cases of non-mandated schools in children under 12.
Kids get the Delta variant and it's only a matter of time before the deaths begin. I know that sounds like easy-to-dismiss dramatics, but it's also a fact.
No one ever gave me the acceptable number of deaths in adults to keep things open. I doubt any of you will give me the acceptable number of dead children.
OAM, I already covered this. For now, what we're seeing is death numbers in the 0-17 years of age cohort over now ~18 months that are below that of the seasonal flu (6 month time scale). We don't ask students to mask, distance learn, socially distance, and as adults, dramatically remake our economic way of life for the flu.
I'll admit that part of the reason those numbers are as low as they are is partially BECAUSE we've been masking, distancing, etc. But it's also true that as infectious diseases go, children are not heavily affected by COVID. Even with Delta.
So if the answer for "acceptable number of dead children" is supposed to be zero, then I guess we should go back to distance learning forever, because they might get the flu at school. Why even allow them into schools with masks and social distancing?! It's unsafe!!!
But as I covered before,
EVERYTHING in life is a balancing test. We say that in-person learning is important to student development. I'm not going to pick "masking in school" as the hill to die on, but important social development occurs from kids being together, interacting, and yes, seeing each others' faces. I don't think it's such a terrible thing to wear the mask at least until the Delta wave passes, but at the same time I'm not going to ask kids to mask in school forever because of the flu, either.
You act like we're all in favor of dead kids because we won't go full bore with every restriction that's available. Yet you won't go with every restriction available, unless you want to go to distance learning forever, or make kids in schools wear masks forever, because of the flu--because the flu kills kids too.
When push comes to shove, I don't think your answer is "zero dead kids is the only acceptable answer" either.