CNN’s Jake Tapper has triggered quite a few folks this morning with these two questions: “Are any of these school boards in favor of mask mandates also imposing a *vaccine* mandate for teachers, administrators, faculty and staff? And if not why not?”:
Two “follow the science” questions:
1. Are any of these school boards in favor of mask mandates also imposing a *vaccine* mandate for teachers, administrators, faculty and staff? And if not why not? … https://t.co/sma1VmI53Q
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 19, 2021
He added that there are no “peer reviewed studies of mask mandates *in schools*” that he’s aware of and which would be key to getting a buy-in on masking:
2/ 2. While understanding masks are effectively generally at preventing transmission, I don’t know of any peer reviewed studies of mask mandates *in schools*. I get “better safe than sorry” but is there peer reviewed data? I haven’t seen any —
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 19, 2021
Europe, for example, isn’t forcing masks on kids:
This is are good questions. I'm not anti-mask at all, but I am curious about data regarding kids wearing masks in schools. Europe, for instance, doesn't make kids under 12 wear them. Is there a reason? https://t.co/emeh8bkRq7
— Daniel Darling (@dandarling) August 19, 2021
A number of fellow journos pointed Tapper to the flawed Duke story we told you about a few weeks ago:
Yes! Researchers studied 864,515 K-12 students in North Carolina who attended in-person school, while wearing masks, from March 2021 through June 2021. https://t.co/vbXShkdquJ https://t.co/TGv6yHFoZq
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) August 19, 2021
Literally a 5 second google search led to the first answer. Why are you doing this Jake? https://t.co/mIkJwd8pz5 https://t.co/pPE1rDf5pN
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) August 19, 2021
Note: He reposted the tweet they’re responding to:
Redid a tweet to make it a two parter to include caveats etc
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 19, 2021
Anyway, as we pointed out, that Duke study lacked a control group which made it pretty much worthless:
Must-read thread. Authors of a study that supported masking in schools had no control group. https://t.co/Msir11zp6p
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) August 10, 2021
We do have data from Florida, however, which found “no statistical difference in school cases per enrolled students in person”:
Florida provided a great real world observational study over the course of the school year last year with 40 districts with masks required policies and 27 without. The result was no statistical difference in school cases per enrolled students in person.
Follow the data
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) August 17, 2021
And:
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) August 17, 2021
As for mandates for educators, Washington state *is* going that route:
NEW: Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate ordered by Gov. Jay Inslee may be the most strict in the country. @Jim_Brunner: https://t.co/byR8jS08Tk
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) August 18, 2021
Gov. Inslee said teachers and such will lose their jobs if they don’t comply, but what remains to be seen is if 1. he can mandate a drug that’s not full FDA approved and 2. what happens if there’s a strike and staffers leave en masse over it?
Gov Jay Inslee says teachers and school staff will lose their jobs if they don't get vaccinated. He has no answer for what would be done if staff leave en masse. He says they will see the value of vaccines and not have to be fired — yet he feels the need to mandate it.
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 18, 2021
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Related:
There are MAJOR FLAWS with the Duke study that concluded kids under 12 should wear masks in schools https://t.co/uXuotrL0O9
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 11, 2021
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