The Media Imagine a Scientific Consensus on Student Mask Mandates

“The scientific research is conclusive: Widespread masking in schools significantly limits COVID transmission among students,” tweeted NPR while promoting its story “Yes, Gov. DeSantis, Studies Do Show Masks Curb Covid-19 In Schools.”

According to its author, the “still raging” political debate over whether masks should be required in schools ignores the “scientific consensus” — which purportedly holds that K–12 student mask mandates are invaluable.

To buttress this claim, the author cites a few studies suggesting that masks have been effective in mitigating spread of the virus while completely ignoring those that indicate the opposite....