Marc Stier at Large

  The PA Budget and Policy Center supports Governor Wolf’s decision to require teachers, staff, and students to wear masks in all K-12 schools and in child care centers for four reasons. First, this is a measure that is necessary to protect the school children and entire communities in Pennsylvania from the threat of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. Taking this step will also help keep schools open, which is important to both families and the education of our children. It will also limit disruption for working families, school communities, and local businesses. Second, the governor’s decision vindicates the basic principle that public health measures should be decided on the basis of the best science available to us. The scientific consensus tells us that masks help reduce the spread of the virus and protect all of us, especially children who cannot yet be vaccinated Finally, the governor’s decision… Continue reading

Dear Representative Diamond, The other day you publicly shared an article about the possible dangers of the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. I read it and the underlying scientific article. While one can raise some quibbles about the scientific competence of computer scientists writing about viruses and vaccines, I actually think it is an excellent example of the kind of hard questioning that is central to the process of scientific inquiry. The article draws on some established and new theories to raise questions about whether the mRNA vaccines could have negative consequences. Without that kind of questioning and the research it generates, it is possible to miss unintended consequences of medical treatments. (I believe that some people with scientific expertise think that some of the theories put forward in the article are misunderstood or quite wrong. But I don’t have the expertise to make that judgment. My conclusions here presuppose that… Continue reading