Parents say Eric Adams is heartless after he promises to scrap vaccine rule for baseball stars

NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been blasted for teasing an end to vaccine mandates for professional athletes – while continuing to order under-5’s to wear masks at school.   

On Wednesday, the mayor promised to work out a solution with Major League Baseball to figure out how to get players without their shots off the bench by the time the season starts on April 7 for the Yankees or April 15 for the Mets, but he refuses to budge unmasking tykes.

Explaining his controversial plans at a press conference Wednesday, Adams said: ‘We are going to do an analysis,’ the mayor said. ‘Baseball season is not tomorrow. It’s not next week. We are going to work this out, where we will ensure the safety of New Yorkers without continuing the spread of COVID. 

‘I’m looking forward to speaking to Major League Baseball as we put our heads together with our medical team and figure out how we come up with a solution here. That’s my goal.’

But parents were quick to anger at Adams’ words. ‘I think he’s under estimating how mad parents are,’ Washington Heights mom Emily Rubinstein, 38, told DailyMail.com. ‘The priorities are totally messed up. We’re talking about a few dozen guys who are exceptional at sports.’

Adams has ignored the groundswell of discontent from parents over keeping mask mandates for children ages five and under because COVID vaccines have not been approved for that group.

He has done so despite CDC stats showing just how low the risk of a serious infection in that group is. A total of 347 children aged between 0 and four have died of COVID since the pandemic began, out of close to a million Americans recorded as dying of the virus.  

Emily Rubinstein, 38, a mother of two, said Mayor Eric Adams’s priorities are completely out of whack for focusing on pro jocks instead of PreKs

The World Health Organization advises that kids in that age group should not wear face coverings because they are not considered effective. Some experts have warned that they can even stunt youngster’s development, by making it harder for them to read expressions. 

A group of parents showed up to City Hall and threatened to take the mayor to court over keeping their children covered.

‘Men who make many, many millions of dollars who got to go to pre-k unmasked are not my problem, I don’t have space in my brain for that,’ Rubinstein, who’s an epidemiologist, said. 

‘He has the power to unmask these kids, and he’s choosing not to because 3 and 4 year-olds don’t get to vote.’

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he’s working hard to find a solution to get professional athletes who are unvaccinated back out on the court and the ballfield

A crowd of angry NYC parents filled City Hall Park earlier in March to protest the continued mask mandate for students under five. Above, a group of children carried signs with their own pleas to end the restriction

A sizeable crowd spoke out against Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to continue forcing children under five to wear masks in school and daycare

A Yankees spokeswoman told the Daily News on Tuesday that General Manager ‘Randy Levine is working with City Hall and all other appropriate officials on this matter.’

Under a mandate put in place by ex-mayor Bill de Blasio, all private employers must require vaccinations for their employees to show up to work.

That includes Mets and Yankees and Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who can’t play with his team because he refuses to get his shots. 

The mayor has slowly eased pandemic requirements, allowing diners to go to restaurants and sports fans to hit the arenas without showing proof of vaccination or wear masks, but tykes must wear their masks in Pre-K, Three-K and day care because city health officials say the infection rates have trended up in that age group.

The mayor has eased restrictions around the city, but tykes in PreK and ThreeK and day care still must wear masks

One parent posted a photo on Twitter of her young son making his own plea on his facemask 

Above, a three-year-old girl is wearing her mask as mandated, while her seven-year-old sister is free to go without one. ‘Given the apparent lack of effectiveness of the vaccine in 2- to 5-year-olds in the Pfizer trials, plus the fact it seems that very few young children are affected severely by Covid, it feels unnecessary to keep them in masks in a learning setting,’ their mother told DailyMail.com

A Change.org petition presented in the form of a letter to NY’s health commissioner is calling for an end to masking for children aged four and under at preschools, nurseries and daycares

The mortality rate for Covid-19 is infinitesimal, .026 percent of all pandemic deaths, according to the American Academy for Pediatricians. 

Kids get sick, Rubinstein says, but one thing is certain, her 5-year-old daughter Lily’s mask isn’t preventing infection.

‘My daughter’s wearing a mask from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.’ she said. ‘It’s wet it’s saggy and its not doing anything. We’re not going to talk about the petri dish that’s strapped to her face.’

 ‘Given the way she’s masking, this is a decorative activity,’ she said.

Rubinstein has also noticed other kids getting off the bus for the Washington Heights YMCA day care where her daughter goes also don’t wear their masks properly.

Nevertheless, Adams said that he would find a way to work with the city’s pro sports teams.

‘We are going to continue to peel back,’ he said, but cautioned that he wouldn’t rush the solution until he found the right one. ‘I’m not going to be rushed based on a season schedule. I’m going to do this right for the people of this city, and I’m not focused on one individual. I’m focused on 9 million people.’

It seemed clear from his statements that his team at City Hall were working much harder to accommodate pitchers and catchers than unmasking toddlers.

Rubinstein was clearly disgusted that her daughter didn’t rank higher on the mayor’s list.

‘I cannot how express how frustrating it is that that’s what we’re focusing on,’ she said.

She’s not the only one who’s mad about the mandate.

Thousands of parents signed a Change.org petition asking the New York state Health commissioner Dr. Mary T Bassett to drop the requirement and let their kids breath freely.

 ‘The national conversation around mandatory masking is now shifting to acknowledge the development, mental and social detriments these policies are causing children right now,’ they write on the online signup letter.

 ‘In fact, the World Health Organization has never recommended masks for children under 5 years old and only limited circumstances for children under 11. 

‘We ask you to join surrounding states and end mandatory masking in schools and daycares now. ALL children but especially those with speech delays, learning disabilities, social anxieties, sensory issues and on the spectrum deserve better.’

The letter adds: ‘There are now growing calls for children to learn with optional masking, as there is no clear evidence to show that masking children indefinitely has curbed this pandemic and kept schools “safe.” 

‘With most adults now vaccinated, our state of New York boasts an 84.3% completed vaccination series, the time is now to advocate for children who remain naturally protected against severe illness and death from COVID-19.’

Children find it more difficult than adults to recognize people wearing face masks which could affect their ability to make friends, study finds

York University in the UK published a new landmark study showing masks make it difficult for children to recognize faces and, in turn, could affect their ability to socialize and make friends.

Researchers from found that face masks make it 20 percent more difficult for children to recognize faces, compared to just 15 percent in adults.

‘[This] could impair children’s ability to navigate through social interactions with their peers and teachers, and this could lead to issues forming important relationships,’ said Dr. Erez Freud, who led the study.

‘Given the importance of faces to social interactions, this is something we need to pay attention to.’

The team recruited 72 children aged six to 14, who were presented with images of faces with or without masks, both upright and inverted

While previous research has found that mask-wearing can hinder facial recognition in adults, this is the first time it has been studied in children.

Freud explained: ‘Faces are among the most important visual stimuli.

‘We use facial information to determine different attributes about a person, including their gender, age, mood and intentions.

‘We use this information to navigate through social interactions.’

The team recruited 72 children aged six to 14, who were presented with images of faces with or without masks, both upright and inverted.

The results showed that children had about a 20 percent impairment rate for recognizing masked faces.

For comparison, previous research has shown that adults have about a 15 percent impairment rate.

The results showed that children had about a 20 percent impairment rate for recognizing masked faces. For comparison, previous research has shown that adults have about a 15 percent impairment rate

Meanwhile, the results also showed that children process faces differently when looking at a masked, and unmasked face.

Usually, humans process faces as a whole, rather than by their individual features – known as holistic processing.

However, the researchers found that when children looked at masked faces, they became more analytical, focusing on individual features.

‘Not only do masks hinder the ability of children to recognize faces, but they also disrupt the typical, holistic way that faces are processed,’ Freud said.

The researchers hope their findings will encourage future research into the effects face masks have on children’s ability to recognize faces and make friends.

Freud concluded: ‘With children back to school with mask mandates once again, future research should explore the social and psychological ramifications of wearing masks on children’s educational performance.’