Thirty-three Republican members of Congress no longer “trust the science” behind the CDC‘s recommendation that children wear masks in school to limit COVID-19‘s transmission risk.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and 32 other House members signed a letter, dated Sept. 2, to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in which they asked her to release and explain the evidence that led the CDC to recommend masking children in schools.
“We have been repeatedly told to trust the science regarding how the CDC creates its policies, yet the lack of transparency in how this recommendation was made and the absence of studies to support it is both concerning and extremely frustrating to parents of school-aged children,” the Republicans wrote in the letter.
“Therefore, as schools are set to reopen under strict and tenuously justified mask mandates based on CDC recommendations, we respectfully request answers to these questions,” the lawmakers continued.
The CDC’s updated guidance calls for “universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.”
“We are concerned about the lack of published data or studies used to justify the necessity of such guidance,” the representatives wrote.
Big Tech companies and the Biden administration have censored debate about masking children in schools because the scientific research shows that children face no significant risk from COVID-19, derive no benefit from wearing masks, and suffer irreversible social, psychological, and physical harm from covering their faces.
The Republicans also argue that public schools should not mandate masking because teachers, staff, and students aged 12 and up can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, which offers them “significant protection.”
The letter asked Walensky to cite evidence that establishes the need for universal masking in public school, including “conclusive data indicating school-aged children’s potential as key vector’s for transmitting the COVID-19 virus and its variants.”
