Republicans look to punish Democrats for school mask mandates

[Valin]

The Washington Examiner

Cassidy Morrison, Healthcare Reporter

February 06, 2022

Republicans have stepped up pressure on Democrats to ditch mask mandates in K-12 schools, pointing to new signs the public is growing weary of pandemic restrictions and citing the detrimental effects they have on children’s development.

A group of Republican House members led by Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Kentucky’s James Comer, ranking member of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lift masking recommendations for school children.

“The extent of the protection masks provide, particularly in schools, remains unknown — and it might be very small,” they said. “Several experts note it is entirely possible that open windows or increased ventilation accounts for nearly all the mitigation benefit in a classroom and other 'layered' interventions may contribute only a marginal benefit or none at all.”

Many county governments and individual school districts cite CDC guidance in their mask orders for children.

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