Margery Smelkinson, Ph.D.

Opinion Pieces

Science-led policy will get Montgomery’s schools reopened.  Washington Post.  November 27, 2020.

Mandate Masks, not metrics, to reopen Maryland schools.  Baltimore Sun.  January 8, 2021.

Let's get real about Risk.  Montgomery County Sentinel.  January 27, 2021.

MCPS ignores evidence, resists governor in continuing in-person holdout. Bethesda Magazine. February 6, 2021.

States Must Fill Federal Leadership Vacuum on School Reopenings.  Newsweek.  March 3, 2021.

Maryland’s education crisis worsens every day students are out of school.  Washington Post.  April 9, 2021.

A call for accountability in Maryland’s mishandling of education amid the pandemic.  Baltimore Sun. May 7, 2021.

Maryland schools should drop all mask mandates.  Washington Post.  June 24, 2021.

Maryland schools need a Test-to-Stay program.  Baltimore Sun.  September 9, 2021.

Montgomery County’s vaccination rate is high enough for the county to fully reopen.  Washington Post.  October 22, 2021.

The Case Against Masks at School.  The Atlantic.  January 26, 2022.

Ending the NYC school mask mandate: long overdue.  NY Daily News.  March 2, 2022.

The CDC needs to fix its new school mask guidance before a BA.2 variant wave hits.  San Francisco Chronicle.  March 18, 2022.

The CDC Should Admit Its Errors To Regain Trust.  Reason Magazine.  April 13, 2022.

Don’t Let the Pandemic Make You Hate Microbes.  Slate Magazine.  May 19, 2022.

The CDC Should Stand Up for Schoolchildren.  City Journal.  August 11, 2022.

Enough with the backdoor policymaking.  It's time to end the COVID public health emergency.  USA Today.  September 1, 2022.

Reforms, Not Blame.  City Journal.  November 3, 2022.

The scientific case against face masks.  Unherd.  January 13, 2023.  

The Vicious Circle of Covid Boondoggles and Bad Data.  Wall Street Journal.  January 27, 2023.

Why is there no Covid-19 commission in America?  Unherd.  February 21, 2023.

America desperately needs a bipartisan pandemic post-mortem.  The Hill. March 3, 2023.

America Needs a COVID-19 Bipartisan Commission to Prepare for the Next Pandemic. Time Magazine. March 14, 2023.

Covid Shots: Two if by Land, None if by Sea.  Wall Street Journal. March 23, 2023.

It’s Still 2020 for the Class of ’27.  Wall Street Journal.  September 11, 2023. 

It’s time to reject mask mandates.  Unherd.  September 12, 2023.

MCPS must combat antisemitism in its schools.  MoCo360.  February 2, 2024.

Jews Must Speak up Against MCPS’s Skyrocketing Antisemitism.  Washington Jewish Week.  February 12, 2024.

Holocaust education bills in Maryland seek to address ignorance, antisemitism.  Baltimore Sun.  February 20, 2024.  

MCPS’s antisemitism wake-up call.  MoCo360.  May 25, 2024.

Select Media Appearances

Infectious disease scientist with 4 kids in public schools calls for classroom reopening. WTOP. January 23, 2021.

'A real tragedy' schools are closed in Montgomery County, Maryland.  Fox News.  National news interview about how counties across the US are failing their students by keeping schools closed.  February 27, 2021.

WMAL Mornings on the Mall 105.9 FM.  Radio interview about issues surrounding school reopening, including the problematic CDC guidance.  March 5, 2021.

Montgomery County parents talks K-3 return to classroom.  Fox5 DC.  News interview discussing reopening efforts of local schools.  March 15, 2021.

American children mark a staggering coronavirus milestone: One year since they set foot in a classroom.  ABC Australia. International news interview about the impact of a year of school closures.  March 22, 2021.

MCPS update on return to school.  Fox 5DC.  News interview discussing Test-to-Stay as alternative to school quarantines.  October 6, 2021.

C4 and Bryan Nehman Show on WBAL 101.9 FM.  Radio interview discussing the harms of school quarantines (segment starts at minute 20).  October 7, 2021.

KCBS Radio.  Radio interview about school mask mandates.  January 30, 2022.

The case against masks.  Vox Podcast: Today, Explained.  February 3, 2022.