'Germs can, in fact, be good'

A pile of protective face masks in Hong Kong, China.

Mask mandates "reduced children's exposure to a potpourri of germs that strengthen their developing immune systems."

(Image credit: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg / Getty Images)

published 28 November 2023

'Protecting kids from life's troubles leaves them more vulnerable'

Allysia Finley in The Wall Street Journal

It's hardly surprising that Chinese hospitals are suddenly "overwhelmed by sick children," says Allysia Finley in The Wall Street Journal. Respiratory viruses "suppressed by nearly three years of Covid lockdowns" have "come back with a vengeance" amid low "natural immunity." Hospitalization rates are up for young U.S. children, too. That's partly due to "bone-headed" mask mandates that didn't stop Covid but "reduced children's exposure to a potpourri of germs that strengthen their developing immune systems."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.