WASHINGTON — The nation’s second largest teachers’ union says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent change in masking guidance is stressing an “exhausted and sometimes scapegoated workforce,” with some states already banning masks in schools, according to a letter obtained by NBC.
“With the school year ending within weeks, we had hoped to have the time this summer to prepare an incorporate any new COVID-19 guidance into our back-to-school plans,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in the letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
“Unfortunately, certain states rushed to act, such as Texas, which totally eliminated its mask mandates, regardless of age, even though vaccines are yet to be approved for those under the age of 12 and fewer than 50 percent of the U.S. population are fully vaccinated,” said Weingarten, who represents 1.7 million members.
Iowa also signed into law legislation prohibiting K-12 schools from mandating masks as well as cities and counties from mandating masks in businesses, with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds saying in a statement that she is “proud to be a governor of a state that values personal responsibility and individual liberties.”
The CDC last week changed its guidance on masks, saying fully vaccinated people no longer need them in most places, leading to a cascade of states changing their rules based on the recommendation.
The CDC did not immediately respond to NBC’s request for comment.
Walensky has said the CDC will issue new guidelines for schools, but it’s unclear when that will happen. She has stressed that “evolving science” drove the decision and that the CDC wanted to share the science with Americans as quickly as possible.
The sudden change caught some stakeholders, including unions representing frontline workers, off guard. It has also led to confusion, including over how to verify that individuals are fully vaccinated, and criticism from some scientists that it’s premature to drop masking policies with significant percentages of Americans still unvaccinated.
The nation’s largest union of registered nurses is calling on the CDC to reverse its guidance on masks, saying it is not in the best interest of public health.
Recent studies have shown immunocompromised individuals don’t generate as strong an immune response to the vaccine, putting them at risk, especially given that most children are not vaccinated. It’s unreasonable to expect millions of Americans who resisted wearing masks in the first place to be forthright and continue to wear them regardless of their vaccination status, critics say.
When it comes to schools, specifically, the change leaves many questions unanswered, according to Weingarten, including whether the CDC is continuing to make masking a priority within all primary schools, along with 3 feet of distancing. The union also wants to know what strategies and protocols the agencies recommend to verify vaccination status of students.
Other questions including whether children under 12, who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated, should remain masked both indoors and outdoors, the letter asks. And whether the CDC will give guidance on how to blend classrooms of children who are ineligible for the vaccine for health or age reasons with students who claim to be vaccinated.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
