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Bill Maher Blasts School Mask Mandates for Kids: ‘It’s Insane’

“Insane” mask mandates in schools are creating a generation of “germ-paranoid munchkins,” Bill Maher said on his show. The Real Time host warned that those mandates will do far more harm than good.

The topic came up during the “Overtime” portion of Friday’s show when Bill Maher and his panel were discussing the recent recall of three “woke” school board members in San Fransisco. That led Maher to ask Brook Jenkins, the former assistant district attorney in that city, if it was time to give mask mandates the boot also.

“Having a 5-year-old in school right now,” she told the panel. “I would like to see them go.”

Maher, who’s complained about mask mandates in the past, seized on that.

“They don’t need them,” Maher replied. “I mean, kids are the least, least vulnerable. To make these little children into Howie Mandels is what you’re doing.” The America’s Got Talent host and comic has a well-documented pathologic fear of germs.

Studies have shown that children are much less likely to suffer serious complications from Covid. Though, there is still a risk. There is also the concern that they could contract the virus and pass it on to the adults in their lives who may be more vulnerable.

Still, Bill Maher believes that kids should be exposed to some germs to help them build a robust immune system. “It’s how you get healthy!,” he said. “It’s how you live. … You can’t live in a world by getting rid of all germs or avoiding them! It’s insane!”

Bill Maher Says It’s Time to Move on From Coronavirus

The pandemic has dominated the headlines and our lives for the past two years. But the virus seems to have peaked last month as the Omicron variant drove infection rates to as high as 800,000 new cases a day in the United States. Though, that strain of the virus was much less deadly than previous ones.

Bill Maher believes we’re entering a post-pandemic world where the virus is managable and treatable. For those who are healthy and vaccinated, the coronavirus shouldn’t be a serious concern now, he said.

“I feel like Covid is still the dominant issue of our lives right now, and it should not be anymore,” he told Deadline last month before the season premiere of his show. “And I think the big discussion on our show Friday night when we go on, is should we continue with the Covid policies we’ve had in the past?”

Maher has long said the virus is one that affects the most vulnerable. He thinks we should still continue to protect those people, but that others should return to normal.

Or, more bluntly, “I’m over Covid,” he said.