Friday 13 May 2022 03:02 PM NYC parents DEMAND Mayor Eric Adams meet with them about toddler mask mandate trends now Parents frustrated with New York City's prolonged mask mandate for children under five have demanded Mayor Eric Adams meet with them in-person after he's blown them off multiple times while attending parties and rubbing elbows with celebrities. More than 200 parents of children attending the city's schools signed a letter on Thursday demanding Adams and his health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, hold a sit-down with them to discuss the mandate, The New York Post reported. 'We write this letter because our hundreds of phone calls and emails, and our direct requests for meetings, have gone unanswered,' the parents wrote. 'We are now publicly requesting a meeting, by May 17, with both Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Ashwin Vasan to discuss NYC's Toddler Mask Mandate.' The boiling point for parents comes more than a month after Adams was set to lift the mandate but instead kept it in place despite a state judge striking down the restriction. More than 200 parents of children attending New York City schools signed a letter on Thursday demanding Mayor Eric Adams and his health commissioner meet with them over the stay on mask mandates for children under 5 The frustrated parents says their calls have been ignored by the mayor, who was set to lift the restriction on April 4 but instead opted to extend it. Pictured, parents protesting outside City Hall last month over Adam's decision to keep the mandate in place Adams, who has been partying and rubbing shoulders with celebrities while the mandate stays, said he would lift it when the 'it is safe to do so,' despite studies showing that young children are not at a serious risk to COVID. Adams (left) is pictured with Cara Delevingne at the new One Vanderbilt skyscraper on March 28 Children are NOT at serious risk from Covid, multiple studies show Multiple studies have shown young children are not at serious risk from Covid-19. Data from from American Academy of Pediatrics shows children accounted for about 19 percent of all COVID cases, but less than 0.26% of cases resulted in death. A study from October found that around half of pediatric Covid cases are asymptomatic, and that was before the more mild Omicron variant became dominant in the U.S. Hospitalizations of pediatric COVID patients are also rare. A study in February, found the Pfizer vaccine was only 12% effective at preventing Omicron in five- to 11- year-olds. The main argument in favor of vaccinating children is to prevent them from spreading the virus but researchers from University of Berlin found, on average, children release less Covid particles into the air. Experts believe people who release lower amounts of aerosol particles when speaking have smaller viral loads, which also means they do not spread the virus at the same level. Advertisement In a statement on Thursday, Adams claimed he would be willing to lift the mandate only when 'the science says it is safe to do so,' despite studies showing that young children are not at a serious risk to COVID-19. 'My team of health experts and I will continue to evaluate the data, day after day, and we will continue to communicate with New Yorkers with additional updates,' the mayor said. Parents, however, want in on that conversation and to be briefed on how exactly the city was going about the decision. 'We want to review the city's analysis of how the benefits of covering the faces of babies who are still in diapers outweighs the harms,' read the letter. 'We want to know why our young children continue to be masked even as every other resident of this city is given the option to unmask, regardless of vaccination status.' Tara Murphy, a mother and former preschool teacher in the West Village who signed off on the letter, said parents just wanted a clear response from the city instead of just being ignored. 'The time is now — every little day counts,' Murphy told the Post, noting her four-year-old daughter 'will have no memory of preschool without a mask.' 'It has become clear that we are masking our children like they are dogs wearing muzzles,' she added. 'The only thing they seem to prevent is kids from biting one another.' Part of the frustration stems from the fact that the toddlers are the only group facing the mask mandates in schools, as those 5 and up were free to remove their masks since March. Last week, toddlers were allowed to remove their mask outdoors, including in public parks and field trips, but the masking in school restriction remains for them. Adams was poised to lift the rule on April 4, but the mayor instead extended the order as COVID-19 cases saw an uptick in the city. A state judge immediately struck down the indefinite mask rule, calling it 'arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable' and therefore 'void and unenforceable.' Adams, however, successfully requested a stay on the mandate to pursue an appeal on the judge's ruling. Adams was poised to lift the last restriction on toddlers on April 4, but chose to extend the order and sought an appeal against a judge to ruled the mandate 'unenforceable.' Adams (right, at the Met Gala on May 2) continues to party instead of meeting with parents Since extending the mask mandate for toddlers, Adams has continued to frequent the members-only club Zero Bond, where he was pictured hanging out with supermodel Naomi Campbell (center) and Grammy award-winning singer Jon Batiste (right) on April 28 Infuriated parents sought answers from the mayor, but Adams has avoided any meeting with them while attending a plethora of social events, including a party with Cara Delevingne at the new One Vanderbilt skyscraper, as well as a trip to see Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick appear in Broadway play Plaza Suite. Adams has also been seen frequenting the elite, members-only club Zero Bond, where he was pictured hanging out with supermodel Naomi Campbell and Grammy award-winning singer Jon Batiste on April 28. The mayor's most recent outing saw him rubbing shoulders with the elite, once again, while he attended the Met Gala last week. While Adams' partying fueled parents ire, City Health Commissioner Vasan has also drawn backlash for backing the mayor's restriction policies and claiming the toddler mask mandate will stay 'indefinitely.' The comment caused more than 100 parents to protest outside City Hall last month while dozens of others held demonstrations outside Vasan's home where they allegedly hurled death threats at the health commissioner. The parents who signed the letter on Thursday said the condemned the personal attacks on Vasan and hoped the officials would be willing to meet with them after commenting that he would be glad to speak with parents face-to-face in a non-hostile setting. New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan (above) said he was willing to meet with parents despite dozens of protesters coming to his home last month Hundreds of parents rallied to call for the end to the toddler mask mandate. A large demonstration outside City Hall in March (pictured) appeared to put on the pressure to axe the restriction until Adams decided to keep it in place amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases The clash over lingering mask mandates comes as New York City continues to see a small but steady rise in COVID -19 cases. The city reported 13,505 new COVID cases in the past day, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 21 new deaths. The U.S. is also seeing a slight uptick caused by the omicron BA.2 subvariant, as the nation reported 102,513 new cases in the past day and 128 new deaths. The nation reported its 1 millionth death as a result of COVID-19 on Thursday. Nearly 70 percent of those eligible are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and more than 82 percent have gotten at least one jab. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility