On the day after he was inaugurated, President Biden signed an executive order requiring masks for everyone on all modes of public transportation and the CDC soon followed with updated rules that required everyone 2 or older to wear a mask. Before that, airlines like Delta offered exceptions for older children.
That mandate was supposed to expire on 9/13/21, but it was previously extended to 1/18/22.
And now it is being extended until March 18th. I’m actually surprised that the extension will just be for 2 months and not through the summer, but I fully expect that it will be extended further.
The FAA has received reports from airlines about thousands of passengers refusing to wear a mask this year. Many of those were removed from their flight and/or banned from flying the airline.
Here is what you should do to avoid that same fate on your next flight.
While most of the world’s transportation mask requirements exclude children under the age of 6 or 12, the US has by far the harshest rule, requiring toddlers from the age of 2 to mask up. I’ve written several time about how absurd it is to expect a toddler to keep a mask on and who you can contact about changing that.
But hey, all the airlines want you to do is glue it on your toddler. 🙄
The CDC mask order actually has no expiration date. A former Biden senior advisor for COVID response thinks we should never get rid of the mask mandate. Will that view win out? Will we see it removed before the November 2022 midterm elections in time to declare victory over COVID during a summer slowdown? Will the courts eventually strike down the transportation mask mandate?
With a family of 4 kids ranging from 1 to 10 years old, we have severely curtailed our family travel since February 2020. Our only family flight during the pandemic was a short 80 minute hop to Myrtle Beach. I was able to get our 3 year old to wear her mask during the boarding process, which is when nearly all mask incidents occur. We made sure that the kids ate and drank at the gate so that they would be able to keep their masks on until takeoff. She had a hard time keeping it on afterward, but we had plenty of snacks and made it back and forth without becoming a news story.
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89 Comments On "Transportation Mask Mandate Will Be Extended Through March 18th, When Do You Think It Will Be Removed? Will The US Ever Get Sensible Toddler Masking Rules?"
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Jan 21, 2025 is when they will take the mandate off
So far every election the last minute they found a a bunch of absentee ballots in favor of the Democratic party. See November 2021 election in New Jersey.
BS. Keep your comments to travel and your politics to yourself.
That’s right! Only those on the left are allowed to voice their opinion!
Canadian Govt just changed its guidance to 6 and under no need for Mask on planes. Wake up U.S.
My kids don’t mind the masks at all and are way more mature about them than most adults I deal with on a daily basis as an airline pilot.
The airlines want you to do it becuaw it’s a federally mandated rule. When you buy a ticket you click boxes several times saying you’ll comply. Even more when you check in. If you or your family can’t or don’t want to comply with the rules, find a different way to travel
How old are your kids?
Your statement is asinine. My older kids are just fine, but you can’t logic with tired 2-4 year olds in my experience, especially when they’re not used to something.
But yes, as I said we have gone from dozens of flight segments as a family per year to close to nil. And perhaps that’s the point of the rule and not a bug.
“The airlines want you to do it becuaw it’s a federally mandated rule.”[sic]
I think some of the biggest issues have been FA/GA on power trips or who secretly wanted to been police/hall monitor’s / enforcers IRL who care more about the power trip.
I think they have escalated problems and viral video incidents. Yes some passenger have been jerks or.drunk, but don’t yellow card a child’s parent.
Early on in the mask mandate, on an Alaska red eye I fell asleep wearing a mask.
I was physically shaken awake by a FA and told to fix my mask over my nose. I could’nt fall back asleep as same FA, hypocriticallly is yapping loudly in galley and pulling mask up and down to gossip and girls talk with other FA, not eat but to talk.
@Dan -flying isn’t a right, you’re to drive…
Great, I’ll tell that to my wife next time she wants to visit her bother’s family in Israel.
*free to drive…
Your wife can go alone…
You’re putting the health of many below what you perceive as a major inconvenience. I’ll gladly not use your referral links going forward…
As soon as I learn how to breastfeed our infant I’ll let you know!
Thanks for your support and readership!
Dan,
Tell him he is “free to leave” not visit your site anymore.
How ungrateful can one be.
Go Dave G, Go.
If you’re afraid, don’t travel!!
It’s not mature, it’s dumbly obedient. There are plenty of (fully vaccinated) adults who are still masking at 1 AM while riding a bike on an empty street, is that also maturity? And the Democratic Mayor-elect of NYC said he wants to end masking for school kids, probably because it’s making them way too mature for their age. It may work for your personal situation but really can’t be expected of others.
Now my work around for masks on longer flight or red-eyes (x-country) is in have a battery powered travel CPAP machine, I have a Medical device tag on my bag (also doesn’t count as a carry-on or get gate checked, or have to be squeezed into a bag sizer).
It’s also an ADA issue — so once your in the air – most FA will leave you alone. But you do have to have an RX to get a CPAP machine.
It has a a humidifier disk for high altitude or low humidity areas. I have noticed it helps keep.my O2 sat up.
I’m less worried about contacting COVID on a plane with postive pressure and HEPA filters than shopping in a store or dining.
“We made sure that the kids ate and drank at the gate so that they would be able to keep their masks on until takeoff.”
can you please elaborate are you saying you made sure they were full so they could keep masks on during takeoff and not ask to eat?
Correct, eating or drinking during the boarding process is the common denominator of nearly every ejection.
I thought that is a way of being exempt from masking?
The CDC rule is that you need to mask in between each bite and sip. So before takeoff power hungry FAs look for infractions like that to kick people off their flight. After takeoff it’s much more lenient.
My brother recently flew with his three and five-year-old. He gave them lollipops, and as long as they kept it in their mouth with the stick sticking out, they didn’t get any trouble about not wearing their mask. As soon as they finish the lollipop he would give them another one.
cdc cant make federal madates, they just provide guidlines and leave it up to the sheep to manadate it. this has been the case from the very beginning.
when the word boycott’s the airline industry for it or when Mashiach comes
when trump gets re elected
We’ve got a three year old, and have been flying a decent amount. As a guideline, US flight attendants look the other way. But it’s an insane rule. We all had COVID as a family, and are among the least likely people to spread it to anybody. Having flown in other countries, and other countries for int’l flights, it’s always a huge relief.
@josh
of course that’s the rule and we will comply but that’s exactly the problem!!!!
and I think your talking about a little older kids not 2 year olds go explain them to be mature about it
It’s a war. This stops when the war is over and this thing is under control. It’s gonna take YEARS to get everyone on a vaccine & booster regimen. Don’t let up on the unvaxxed. Pressure them constantly so we can put this behind us.
It could also stop when the numbers get low enough. Right now they’re not. My old neighbor (from 20 years ago) has invasive cancer, and couldn’t get a bed for urgent treatment. That’s a real problem. If I get severely injured on my job, I might need to spend a couple hours in my city looking for an ER bed. This is an aspect to COVID that is invisible to most people and contributes to an “out of sight” dynamic. Again, the solution is the “vaccine” which keeps people out of the hospital.
It’s hard for people to grasp this is a totally new disease, like AIDS, and it’s even scarier because the vaccine really isn’t a vaccine. It just helps. But without near-universal vaccine adoption we’re going to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this thing.
Unless the R0 has changed, it’s mathematically impossible for hospitals to be inundated with only the unvaccinated, considering the vaccination rate for adults is decent. If the vaccine works, then only the unvaccinated would end up in hospital, and there are far less unvaccinated nowadays. For example, if the virus kills 2/100 before a vaccine, then 60/100 get the vaccine, then less than 1 will die of the virus, IF the vaccine works.
As a physician in a major children’s hospital, I have seen 100s of children – including those who are healthy and here for totally elective procedures – who not only have no problem at all with wearing the masks but have to be cajoled into removing their masks for me to examine their mouths and teeth. The overwhelming majority of children mirroring their parents’ attitudes – it is highly unfortunate and, quite frankly, a tremendous chillul Hashem, that the “frummer” people are or identify as, the more they’ve bought into the anti-science Trumpian view. If the adults would just grow up, the children would be totally compliant with mask mandates.
Again, surely you are talking about older children and not young toddlers that have been exempted from mask wearing from every country in the world besides the US…
A cranky 2 or 3 year old isn’t going to be compliant about anything from keeping a mask on to keeping their pants on.
No, this observation includes two- and three-year olds who are sometimes cranky because they haven’t eaten or drank anything all day because of anesthesia. See Sukka 56b – שולט דינוקא בשוקא או דאבוה או דאימיה. Immature parents who kvetch incessantly about the masks have kids who won’t comply. Based on the level of snark in your posts, I’m not at all surprised that your kids won’t comply.
LOL, you sound like a compassionate doctor indeed, good for you for being a shining example for your profession!
This will be my final post – you obviously have no argument if your best reply is a coarse ad hominem attack. We are *all* tired of this pandemic, but this virus doesn’t care about our feelings and we need to just hold it together by protecting each other as best we can. Universal masks are a low-cost and low-effort measure, and the issue of children masking on public transportation or in school would be far less contentious if parents would model appropriate behavior. Wishing you a Freilichen Chanuka and continued hatzlacha.
AR
1. I replied with ad hominem as you decided to go down that road with me, so color me surprised that you took offence at that.
2. I’m OK with all of that and happily comply where required. Before there were widely available vaccines I supported masking in public and in shuls, etc.
I personally think continued masking requirements discourages vaccine uptake, but that has nothing to do with my own compliance when required.
Your assumption that toddlers model parent’s behavior in less than ideal circumstances is just fairy tales though. It would work if those toddlers had to wear masks to nursery and were used to it, but other than that I don’t believe expecting toddlers to stay masked for countless hours is a reasonable expectation, and neither does the CDC equivalent in every country outside of the US. An office visit is clearly different than a whole day of travel.
Dan the Logician for President.
This is part of the reason why some of society lost their trust in doctors, as they inject themselves into politics, and blaming parents for the kid bad behavior.
Obviously you must be lucky that your kids comply 100% all the time with your requests but that’s not always the case to most of us, listening and understanding other people would help allot.
@Shmekel (The Putz) + Dan
Physicians, nurses et al wear masks for 12hrs+; the whole I can’t wear a mask is BS (and a sign of neurosis bordering on psychosis). Grow up, and get a reality grip.
Are there 2 year old Physicians and Nurses now?
Incredible! Somebody page Doogie Howser!
@Dan, 2 year olds won’t remember the trip, so maybe they can just stay home? Again, you’re putting the health of many below what you perceive as a major inconvenience.
Those many can all go and get vaccinated, I am vaccinated and therefore comfortable being in public without a mask, and with regards to me putting others at risk, they can all go and get vaccinated just like I did.
Each and every person carries their own responsibility to protect themselves. (in other words, why am I required to wipe your butt after you use the restroom).
If it was honestly about stopping the spread mandatory negative testing 24 hours within flying or twice weekly testing for “COVID passports”.
Since the vaccine will minimize ones personal risk of dying if they get infected, but it will not prevent transmission (per CDC and vaccine manufacturer own disclosure). As well as all the examples of breakthrough cases tracked in Israel (US only tracks breakthrough cases if you die or admitted to Hospital).
Kids are vectors of infection beyond a simple mask because they touch everything much moreso than adults.
What do you call this “Based on the level of snark in your posts, I’m not at all surprised that your kids won’t comply”, not an attack
Great response! People speaking in this manner obviously don’t have 2-3 year olds off their own..
Really messed up when people just throw around gemaras like that. You’re an am haeretz midiaraisah if you think that makes any sense
Thanks Dr. It’s good to see the CDC does your thinking for you and you’ve blamed everything on ‘anti-science Trumpian view’ and ‘“frummer” people’. 15 mins in a dentist office does not equal 2+ hours on a plane.
Never mind that 2+ hours in a plane to Miami can actually mean getting up early or staying up late which doesn’t happen with a Dr visit, being masked in the airport for over an hour, etc.
Expecting a 2 year old to model perfect behavior in that scenario is wishful thinking.
I’ve flown a few times lately, and the airline staff I’ve seen have had reasonable expectations for children B’H.
That’s typically the case, but then you into a power hungry flight attendant and it’s game over.
A short summary of your comment: Adults should teach their kids to practically glue their masks to their faces without really knowing why, and those that don’t are anti-science-Trumpian-tremendous-Chillul-Hashem-makers.
I’m sure you are a thinker, you don’t need a summary. Things are never that simple.
I find it very interesting and ironic that the “mask” mandate is extended till Purim.
They’re even machmir and will keep it through Shushan Purim!
🙂
I have a medical condition that prevents me from wearing a mask. My kids have the same condition, only worse, and have never put on masks. We haven’t flown and will not fly until sanity is restored. We had a family wedding in the spring and we drove the up and down the east coast to attend. We sold/gave away most of our miles as we have no use for it and don’t feel like it’s going to end anytime soon. We switched over to chase points because they are having great redeeming options currently. Still have a ton of southwest if anyone wants to buy.
Have you tried contacting the airline for a medical exemption?
I’d start with Delta.
Even if he gets an exemption the power hungry flight attendants will put up a fight
What is the exemption?
Ever heard of it?
Is Israel allow non residents but fully vaccinated to enter?
No
Even if they had the booster?
Do they have a date that they might reopen?
Correct. They are waiting to see what happens with Omicron.
Some say raising the age for mask requirements is “sensible” and other say removing the mandate all together is “sensible”. Why do you think the government has the sense you think they should have? I want them to have the sense I have and remove the nonsense mandate altogether.
It really depends on who wins the presidency in 2024. That should be one of the options in the poll
President Desantis will be redacting all mask mandates Jan 2025.
Imagine how strict they would be with masks if masks actually slowed down viral spread
I was just in his state the week before Thanksgiving. Did some shopping in the malls. Tons of people in the stores – thriving economy – lots of people buying. I told one of the clerks there that our malls are empty and many of what used to be stores were vacant, (I’m guessing she was born in a Socialist contrary) she replied with something that I would never say out loud here where I live in NJ. I told her so – in a complimentary way – She told me that we have to change our Governor. I told her that we tried!
Dan: Please stick to giving “deals”. You’ll never convince the mask believers of their ineffectiveness despite two years with the disease still here. I was on an international flight recently and my wife and I were the only two in our business class section. The F/A woke me up to make me reposition my mask. I’ve had three vaccinations and had been tested the day before. And they wonder why there is rage.
Arjay7
The problem is that while you and some other people may be at lower risk, there’s no way for flight attendants to know that about each passenger and enforce the rules selectively.
Rage isn’t good response to frustration so I’m not eager to excuse it.
You are correct, they don’t know. Nor do they care. I try to explain what is, not what should be. We can all answer that. That still leaves the question of who is being compromised when my wife and I are the only two in the entire business class section and we are sound asleep.
This whole process is only going to encourage the unvaccinated to stay unvaccinated. Think about it, if someone is vaccinated they should be able to fly and do anything without a mask. Not only isn’t that the case but the US just changed the testing policy to a day before to everyone EVEN THE VACCINATED! (And on that note of everyone on the plane is supposedly immune why would you need to wear a mask). This is all a big game of political theater and lots of people (even intelligent ones) have fallen for this nonsense. The whole world is going nuts about Omicron when the symptoms that were found are mild. People need to get over this nonsense and realize that this is all political games. If airlines would allow people to just do whatever they want the flying environment would be a lot less tense. When you fly they announce every few minutes about wearing a mask over mouth and nose blah blah blah. They don’t announce about seatbelts anymore by takeoff. They will get destroyed in the Midterms but just wait till October 2022 when COVID will be declared over.
Need to teach your kid to wear a mask. It can be done – you see plenty of children who wear their mask.
This is really a parenting issue
That’s true for older kids. That’s why- in most of the world- the mandate starts at 5 or 6 and not, let’s say, 12. But for 2- and 3-year olds, especially when tired and in unfamiliar circumstances which are both true when travelling- there often isn’t much that even the best parenting will do. If it’s uncomfortable for them, they may just decide to take it off and throw a tantrum, regardless of whether or not the parent is wearing a mask, or whether the parent has done everything they can to teach them to wear it. Most people who have had children that age know this. I think that collectively we should all try to not shame or blame parents for everything we see their kids do, and not just assume that if the kids is doing something then that means the parent didn’t try hard enough. Especially for kids that age, it’s often not the case.
Dan- What about the new rules reducing the testing time from 3 days to 1 day? Certainly makes it more difficult to pull that off. Can you use an antigen test for that now? Flying to Panama and was worried getting a test done in 3 days let alone 1. thanks
Sounds like a parental/conditioning issue to me. Maybe your lack of travel is actually a contributing factor? After some initial training/encouragement/bribing both my 2.5 year-old and 4 year-old have been wearing masks no problem since last summer (when they were 1.5 and 3 years old, respectively). Once they got used to wearing masks in public spaces we just continued having them do so because…why not? Sure is nice not having to worry about them constantly sticking their hands in their mouths at grocery stores, playgrounds and amusement parks, and especially on public transportation. Having character masks they are excited about wearing and properly fitted to their little faces also helps alleviate the pushback in wearing them. Maybe try different masks and/or mask cinchers which keep them from shifting around which seems to piss them off. Kids are amazingly adaptable creatures, especially after bribing.
Excellent post and well said. Dan understand your frustration, but not sure why you would make a mountain out of mole hill over this issue. Everyone hates wearing masks, but it has been proven that masking prevents spreading of viruses and given the situation masks are a good cheap solution. On top of that its more of an effort vs. forcing compliance from the airlines. I’ve flown dozens of time and never seen anyone get booted or harassed as long as they make some type of effort to have a face covering around the mouth/nose and I’m sure they are even more lenient to kids.
To me I feel like you could much better focus your energy on other more productive areas such as deals =). And if you really feel that greatly against masking here are a few countries you relocate to that doesn’t require masks at all currently: Sudan, Greenland, Yemen, Belarus, Sweden.
The post is not about masking. It’s about requiring masks for 2 year olds with no exceptions. There have been countless families kicked off flights because their 2 year old wouldn’t wear a mask.
Absolutely, I wear my mask on the plane and follow the rules even putting the mask back on between bites/sips. My kids are now in their teens and twenties – but I know that at least some of them would’ve had difficulty wearing a mask in the departure airport, on the plane, and in the arrival airport consecutively – which even for a short flight could be 4-5 hours. On my last flight, I saw people bring their pets aboard as well, are we going to expect the pets to wear masks too? If they really are scared about young children – give us the option to PCR test them before the flight – that should be good enough, no?
I’d be fine with a same day testing requirement to avoid having to keep a mask on my toddler.
If the airlines tacked $5/$10 on to each ticket and required a proctored test – and leave the option to mask up to the individual it would help get people back on planes faster at least in US.
Testing/Temp matters more than masking if we intellectually honest and scientific.
While the CDC only tracks Breakthrough cases if you die or admitted to the Hospital.
Many states do track breakthrough cases.
Oregon for example Nov 11.21~11.27.2021 almost 30% of postive tests were breakthrough cases if vaxxed.
While you can be vaxxed, asymptomatic and postive for COVID you can still an active vector of transmission.
Medical exceptions apply to kids on top of that flyers are not required to wear masks when actively eating or drinking, or taking oral medication. The families that have been kicked off make no attempt in complying to the “rules” instead they become belligerent towards the airline crew.
And as others mention above kids are way smarter than you think. They can be taught whether through cajoling, bribes, repetition, etc… its just whether you want to take the time to teach them and try the various methods.
That’s not always the case. Plenty have been kicked off without that.
From my own experience, kids that are 4 or 5 and up can be bribed into good behavior. 2-3 year olds can’t easily be bribed or reasoned with, especially in stressful situations when they are overtired. That’s not always the case, but it’s a general rule.
Agreed there are always exceptions to the rule (i.e. rogue flight attendants), however I disagree with your assumption of “plenty”, especially if the family tried complying… would love to see the data on this if you have any to show.
My best guess is what usually happens is the parents haven’t trained the kids to wear a mask and the kids becomes fussy at the airport when they need to wear a mask, the parents get frustrated and takes the anger out at the flight attendant when they try to enforce the rule. However, if the parents made any effort especially if they followed your guide on how not to get kicked off, I’m pretty confident this would be a non-issue.
If people were serious about masking, they’d be wearing N95s and getting them fit tested with each use. Surgical masks are a joke, there’s an incredible amount of breakthrough, they’re only good for blocking spittle, literally.
You do control your two yr old. If you’re waiting for another child’s bus and your two yr old wants to run into the street, you wouldn’t let. Even if it’s an hour.
If your two yr old wants to play with the Shabbos candles or urn, you don’t let. Even if it’s four hours.
If your two yr old wants to take off his/her coat outside in 10 degress, you don’t let. ESPECIALLY if it’s for a few hours.
Your make your littles keep on basic clothing, diaper, underwear, shoes, hat, scarf, coat………
I live near Chinatown and all the toddlers are wearing masks. I work near a preschool and the toddlers all wear masks.
I hate masks and don’t agree with them but you can make your two yr old waer one. And be ok with it bc they take their cues from US.
So, those are all things that we spend countless hours training our kids to do for their lifelong safety.
If my toddler went to a chinatown preschool, she would be trained to wear a mask I’m sure.
As she goes to a mainstream frum preschool without a mask mandate, she is not trained to do so.
To introduce masking to her in an unfamiliar space for long periods of time would require me physically keeping it over her mouth and nose. Of course it’s possible, but that’s no easy feat and no guarantee she won’t throw a tantrum.
Most flight attendants understand this, but some on a power trip do not.
True. I have a photo of two flight attendants not masked and sitting right behind me. (I was in the second to last row). I’d spread it around online but don’t want to be kicked off the airline forever.
Does my Puppy need a mask to?
Children respond to their parents attitude towards wearing a mask. I have seen young kids…two and over..just go with the flow.
Mask mandate….no big deal. Just wear a mask to protect yourself and others. Stop making a big deal out of it!
Time to start a mask free airline