Veterans continue to suffer under the Mask Mandates

In North Carolina, the mask mandates have been lifted. But, not for everyone.

As we approach Veterans day this year we are reminded to take a moment to honor our Veterans and the sacrifice they voluntarily gave to secure our lives, liberty, and the pursuit of our happiness. Unfortunately, our nation is still campaigning against the welfare and well-being of our Veterans.

All across the nation, our Veterans are medically discriminated against by the very institution that was congressionally appropriated to help them. The Veterans Administration continues to enforce the draconian and nonsensical mask mandates.

Not only are the mask mandates still in effect in every VA facility, but they also don’t allow for any exemptions.

Are you a survivor of Military sexual abuse and trauma? Did your attacker cover your mouth and now you deal with the mental health implications of being forced to wear a mask while receiving care and treatment for the very issues the VA is causing to be prolonged? Too Bad, put the mask on.

Were you exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan or Iraq? Did you develop mental or physiological responses to having your breathing obstructed or impaired? Don’t care, put the mask on.

Do you have PTS or PTSD that manifests with anxiety and other physical manifestations that are made worse with a mask? Tough, put a mask on.

The Honorable Denis Richard McDonough should feel ashamed of continuing a policy that creates new problems for the heroes of our nation. Instead of allowing for an exemption, our Veterans are met with police officers trespassing them and kicking them off Federal property.

Our nation should be treating the best of us with more respect and dignity than showcased in the video above. The Veterans Administration also claims to be using the authority of the CDC to claim the need for a mask mandate. How then, after the CDC lifts mask recommendations for most healthcare personnel and patients. “Agencies must require all individuals to wear a high-quality mask regardless of vaccination status.” downgraded to NO.

According to the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Updated Implementation Guidance for Federal Agencies on COVID-19 Community Levels, Mask Wearing: To be consistent with When the COVID-19 Community Level is LOW in the county where a Federal facility is located in most settings, agencies would need to communicate, such as through signage, that mask-wearing is optional, and should not otherwise require individuals to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status, except where required by Federal, State, Tribal, territorial, or local laws, rules, regulations, or existing collective bargaining agreements.

In both Cumberland county and Durham county the covid-19 community level is low. This means the VA is in direct violation of Federal guidelines by enforcing mask mandates and not posting signs that mask-wearing is optional. Look up community levels on the CDC website.

It is also our humble opinion that mask mandates should be removed entirely based on “the science”. Masks don’t work. Especially when the outcome creates more mental and physical issues for some of our most vulnerable populations-Veterans.

You can review hundreds of peer-reviewed studies showcasing this point. Do masks work? See the review of over 150 studies below, Masking: More Harms than Good?, and The Federal Mask Mandates Need to End Now.

A new organization has sprung in response to the mask mandate. Operation My VA. This organization is dedicated to removing the mask mandates at all costs. Formed by combat disabled infantry marine and a double purple heart recipient Army infantry veteran, they seek to combat the Veterans Affairs to end the mask mandates and help other Veterans get access to the benefits they are entitled to. You can sign the petition to end mask mandates here. They are organizing a protest at the Fayetteville VA Emergency care this Veterans Day, November 11, 2022. You can find more information about the event on the website. (Read the 5 paragraph order)

This Veterans day, remember all of those who can’t get access and the treatment they have earned and push back against the mandates.