Reason’s Robby Soave got his hands on leaked audio from a recent House subcommittee briefing where CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said her agency would NOT be revising its guidance on masks in school:
EXCLUSIVE: I obtained leaked audio of a private House subcommittee briefing in which CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said she has no plans to revise the agency's masking guidance for schools. https://t.co/OPvSjxXxnq
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
Data? Who cares about the data?
Walensky was grilled about keeping masks in schools given deficiencies of the Arizona study and others. She acknowledged "limitations" of data but said "the masks should still stay on."
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
She also said the ultimate decision should be left up to local authorities, which would be good news. . .
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When pressed by Rep. Palmer, she said "guidance is just guidance, and all of these decisions, we've continued to say, have to be made at the local level." Palmer and Rep. Eshoo both called BS on this, since local authorities everywhere are actively deferring to CDC.
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
. . .but so many blue states look to the CDC for guidance that the confusion will continue:
It was bipartisan. Eshoo a Democrat, really got to the heart of the problem. pic.twitter.com/SzjZgwtLG7
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
Walensky also dodged on natural immunity:
Rep. John Joyce (R) raised valid Q about natural immunity, said it's clear from CDC's own data that this is as good as vaccination, why doesn't it count in lieu of federal vaccine requirement for healthcare workers? Walensky really had no answer at all. pic.twitter.com/gZaKlsUDLH
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
And the masking will continue:
What it boils down to is that the CDC feels no need to change school mask guidance. Walensky's view is that if you don't like this, your local officials should just do whatever. But the problem is that most areas controlled by Democrats feel utterly beholden to CDC guidance.
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
Read the whole thing here:
Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers asked: "Dr. Walensky, will you commit to update your guidance by Friday to allow children in person without the burden of masks?" The answer was no. https://t.co/OPvSjxXxnq
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) February 17, 2022
