As some asshole with a blog put it:

Nationally, pediatric wards are being slammed by multiple respiratory viruses, and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is considering setting up tents to treat the overflow. Massachusetts is also experiencing problems, and D.C.’s Children’s Hospital, along with other D.C.-area hospitals has excessive wait times.

If there’s any good news, it’s that most of this surge doesn’t appear to be due to COVID per se (though it’s not helping, especially when the specialized pediatric doctors and nurses can’t work because they’re infected with COVID), but due to other respiratory viruses–the spread of which also can be limited by masking.

This is precisely the situation when we were supposed to return to masking–and there was supposed agreement on this. If we are not going to impose masking requirements or even make strong suggestions to wear masks when children can’t get medical care, then we are never going to impose masking requirements. Those who made the argument that we would return to masking when things get bad have been revealed as liars (though that was somewhat clear at the time anyway).

So protect a child and wear a mask. It’s just not that hard to do. Because our sociopathic leadership, such as it is, isn’t going to do a damn thing.

I’ll be crass enough to point out the midterms are over, so let’s not worry about what the anti-maskers think (and to the extent it distracts many of those same assholes from being shitty towards LBGTQ people, that’s good too).

One of the common political themes throughout my life have been sanctimonious appeals about THE CHILDREN!!. Well, now that actual children are getting sick, it’s time for people to step up. It likely won’t happen, but we can fucking try anyway.