Many Pediatricians are Great; The American Academy of Pediatrics Isn't and Must be Dissolved
The AAP still makes toddlers mask, but they don't mask at their conference
Pediatricians are often wonderful, thoughtful, caring people. But their professional organization: the American Academy of Pediatrics has failed children and society and should be dissolved. In fact, the organization will very likely undergo a cosmic shift as continued revelations about its’ poor decision making come out. Today's chapter is on hypocrisy.
Let’s recap. Previously in Sensible Medicine, I documented the AAP’s failures. Their root problem was that they are comfortable making strong proclamations with weak data— rather than asking for trials. That backfired in the case of peanut allergies, where, based on opinion, they advocated for avoidance, only to find that exposure was preferable. They could have advocated for trials, but chose not to. Had they pushed for trials, we would have gotten the answer sooner, and fewer kids would have had allergies. The AAP's underlying hubris is making recommendations without data.
In recent years, the organization appears to be captured by extremist views. They initially wanted schools reopened in the fall of 2020, but when Trump said he wanted that, they backtracked. Look at the dates of these headlines.
The AAP’s abandonment of unequivocal support in-person education helped fuel prolonged closures in liberal cities, and ruined the lives of a generation of kids. They hated Trump more than they loved children. That's the only reason they switched positions. Sad to witness.
Their stance on masking was also a nod to Trump. If he hadn’t been so nonchalant about masks, they would not have been so fervent. The AAP decided to issue guidance that pushed masks on 2 - 4 year olds. This was in defiance of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and basic common sense. It is basic sense to know that a damp cloth mask worn by a 2 year old for many hours of the day—except the hours they all nap side by side in the same room— is a dumb intervention. Of course, once again, no data supported their opinion.
As of the date of this writing, they STILL RECOMMEND masking kids. From their website, dated 6/30/22:
They recommend 2 year olds mask when community transmission is high or if they are unvaccinated. Guess what? This recommendation is entirely unsupported; most 2 year olds are unvaccinated, so these kids are not done with masking. Kids in US Headstart— the poorest and most vulnerable— are still forced to mask based on AAP guidance. Kids in speech therapy had to wear masks in some places based on their insipid guidance. They failed kids because they have no way to think about evidence.
So does the AAP practice what they preach? These are just a small set of pictures from their conference, in person, and in door. Take a look.
Unmasked on stage, in selfies, in auditoriums, and more. Even some who explictly pushed for little children to wear unproven masks (PS - to date 0 randomized trials ever conducted during the pandemic in kids of any age) were unmasked.
Why do they skip masking? Because masks inhibit human interaction. That is why they are choosing not to do it. Because all things being equal— it is better to not wear a mask. They may make excuses that they are vaccinated or have been tested, but that belies the truth. The risk to a 4 year old child is far lower than a triple boosted 60 year old. And 2 year olds have far more to gain from seeing faces than a 60 year old. And yet, they are pushing masks without data— to this day— on children, while they themselves know that masks impair human interaction. In fact, why didn’t they have a policy mandating n95s, given their record of mask zealotry?
AAP— the professional organization— does not stand for all pediatricians. Pediatricians are often wonderful people and most don’t shape the AAP’s policy. Like all professional groups, AAP is a small set of power-brokers in the field. It started as an organization in need of a lesson in evidence based medicine, but has become a deranged, far left wing political organization masquerading as a scientific one. It’s recommendations in this pandemic have both abandoned children, and actively harmed them. The hypocrisy within the organization is incredible and sickening.
Of course, they go unmasked while they simultaneously advise 2 year olds to mask. If you time travelled from 2017 to 2022, you would not believe that so many smart people went so astray. The organization must dissolve. I suspect that, over the next decade, it essentially will. Don't forget, they did it to themselves.
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When I trained in the late 1970s early 1980s at Northwestern, we were trained to be apolitical. Our primary concern was giving or finding the best care for our patient. Now medical students and young practitioners are all social justice warriors and their professional organizations of (frequently non-practicing) administrators reflect that. Physicians actually identify themselves as medical liberal, medical conservative. Now studies are touted or ignored in deeply political ways. All this is heartbreaking to see. I feel the same way about the ABIM threatening your certification for the ill-defined “misinformation” or organizations like NoLicenseFor Disinformation that threaten your your state license, weaponize the patient doctor relationship to report you from straying from CDC guidelines. A CDC that has caved repeatedly to political pressure and ignored studies that challenged their current policy. I think the power that all these organizations wield should be disbanded if they show themselves to be political.
My 2 year old’s pediatrician keeps pushing the c19 vax on her. My wife would do it, but I will not agree. The doctor knows this. When I’m at the appointment, the doc doesn’t mention it. When it’s just my wife, the doc brings it up to the point my wife feels guilty. That’s messed up, right? How is that acting in the child’s best interest?