Parents begging doctors to lie so that their kids won’t have to wear masks to school

SQUIRREL HILL — The phones at Kids Plus Pediatrics have been ringing off the hook. Parents have been asking doctors to essentially lie so their kids won’t have to wear a mask to school.

“People say, ‘Can you just sign this?’ Of course we aren’t doing that unless there’s a medical reason,” explained Dr. Todd Wolynn.

That’s the question Wolynn and his colleagues have been hearing nonstop.

Parents want him to sign a “mask exemption” form or an excuse for their child, so they won’t have to wear a mask while in school.

“We are not going to change our professional and ethical stance because someone says ‘Can you write me an exemption?,’ that’s providing permission to infect,” Wolynn said.

Here are links to resources you may need during the COVID-19 pandemic

When parents hear that answer, they sometimes get aggressive.

“Our staff is getting beaten up, verbally threatened, ‘I’m gonna come down there’ and bravado and bully people around,” Wolynn said.

However, he says they will write medical excuses for children who actually need them; however, those cases are rare.

“If your child has a significant developmental disorder, perhaps autistic spectrum disorders, sensory processing issues, can’t handle or understand the importance ... to wear a mask and continue to remove it,” Wolynn said.

If your child doesn’t fall in one of those categories, don’t expect to receive a mask exemption from Kids Plus Pediatrics.

“We will never, ever allow the child to be put in harm’s way even if they ask us to, even if they think it’s the right thing to do.”

First human case of the West Nile Virus in Allegheny County since 2018 has been identified