Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More School Masking Decisions Are Being Made At Local Level
CBS News: Governors Roll Back School Mask Mandates As COVID Cases Decline, But Some Parents Worry
Several Democratic governors have announced that they are ending their states' school mask mandates. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced Monday he plans to end a statewide mask requirement in schools and child care centers effective March 7. From the first week of January to the last week of the month, new student COVID cases in New Jersey dropped by nearly 80% and new staff cases were down by more than 83%. "We're not going to manage COVID to zero. We have to learn how to live with COVID," Murphy said. (2/9)
NBC News: Teachers Unions Call For Decisions About Masks In Schools To Be Guided In Science
As more states plan to lift mask mandates in schools, several teachers unions said they are not opposed to the idea of children being unmasked in classrooms but want to ensure those decisions are based on science. The governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon announced plans Monday to remove statewide mask mandates in schools by the end of February or the end of March as the surge of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is declining after record-breaking numbers of new cases around the country disrupted in-person learning and worsened staffing shortages. (Silva and Chow, 2/8)
USA Today: School Mask Mandates Ending As States Lift Rules Amid Omicron Decline
Fatigue and frustration are setting in two years into the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, and a growing chorus of doctors, parents and state officials are calling for an end to school mask mandates. The issue has long divided Americans across the nation, spurring intense debates and demonstrations at school board meetings, propelling legal battles and emerging as a focal point of state elections. But a national conversation around an "offramp" to masking in schools has accelerated in recent days. As the omicron wave recedes, multiple states have taken action to phase out statewide school mask mandates, and a number of high-profile medical professionals have changed their tunes on the matter. (Hauck, 2/8)
The New York Times: With Mask Restrictions Set To Lift, A Haze Of Uncertainty Lingers
As the Omicron surge begins to recede in many regions of the country, the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware have announced that they will lift school mask mandates in the coming weeks. But the move to loosen these politically charged restrictions has divided scientists and public health experts. Some cheered the change. (Anthes, 2/8)
Fox News: Loudoun County Parents And Children Serve Affidavits To School Board Calling For Them To End Mask Mandate
Parents and children at a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, served affidavits to board officials on Tuesday evening, calling on them to cease and desist the school district's mask mandate for students and staff. Megan Rafalski, a parent of a student in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), said that 65 parents and concerned citizens signed the affidavits. "We're parents who want to be parents and look after our children," Rafalski told Fox News Digital. "We've tried to talk to them, they will not listen, so it’s essentially a list of demands, a list of grievances." (Best, 2/9)
