School head SHOCKS host into silence with callous plan for kids who refuse reimposed mask mandates



A San Diego school district has reimposed indoor mask mandates in response to the BA.5 COVID-19 subvariant, and the district's board president has a harsh message for kids that don't comply.

Board President Sharon Whitehurst-Payne for the San Diego Unified School District, the second largest K-12 system in the state of California, said during an interview with KUSI News that currently enrolled students who don't feel comfortable wearing a mask should "just not return."

Whitehurst-Payne first addressed students who would be returning in the fall by saying anyone who didn't want to wear a mask "can go to our school that's online. They can opt not to return to the regular school but to go to the school where they don't have to go to school at all other than via zoom."

"What about summer school? What if they're already enrolled in summer school and now they get this mask mandate and they're not comfortable with wearing a mask?" asked the interviewer.

"They should just ... make it known that they don't feel comfortable and at that point, just not return," Whitehurst-Payne responded.


\u201c"They can go to our school that's online. They can opt not to return to the regular school, but to go to the school where they don't have to go to school at all other than via Zoom."\n\n-@sdschools President Whitehurst-Payne on those who don't want to mask.\nhttps://t.co/xG9KyM9oHT\u201d
— Anthony LaMesa (@Anthony LaMesa) 1658198714

"If you live in San Diego and you've got kids in that school, get your kids out," said BlazeTV host Dave Rubin. "You are a child abuser if you're sending your kids to school to have an unscientific piece of cloth wrapped around their face that does absolutely nothing. We know that all the masks, except the N95s, do nothing ... and kids have a 99.99999% survival rate on COVID, and we're two and a half years past the beginning of this freaking thing!"

Watch the video clip from "The Rubin Report" below for more information. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.



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NYC ends vaccine passport and mask mandates — except for children younger than 5



Vaccine passport and masking requirements in New York City will be lifted on Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday, including the city's school mask mandate and vaccination requirements for restaurants, entertainment venues, and other public indoor spaces.

The mayor made the announcement in Times Square, telling New York residents that while the coronavirus pandemic is not over, it is now safe enough to suspend the heavy restrictions enacted over the past two years.

"We're far from out of the woods," Adams said. "COVID is still here. But we are beating it back."

"Proof of vaccination will no longer be required for indoor venues like restaurants, bars, gyms, and entertainment venues, but business owners may voluntarily ask customers for proof of vaccination if they choose too," the mayor announced, declaring suspension of the Key2NYC program.

"Schools have remained among the safest places in the city throughout this pandemic, with record low numbers of infections. Beginning Monday, March 7, the indoor mask mandate will be removed for @NYCSChools K-12," he said.

Schools have remained among the safest places in the city throughout this pandemic, with record low numbers of infections. Beginning Monday, March 7, the indoor mask mandate will be removed for @NYCSchools K-12.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@Mayor Eric Adams) 1646421924

The mayor's announcement follows the release of a study by epidemiologists at Yale University that estimated New York's COVID-19 vaccination campaign has prevented 48,000 deaths, 300,000 hospitalizations, and 1.9 million cases, the city health department said.

"COVID-19 vaccines have saved so many lives and prevented an immense amount of suffering," Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said, according to WABC-TV. "Nearly 48,000 New Yorkers will celebrate another birthday this year due to the power of vaccination."

New York will leave some pandemic restrictions for young children in place. Mask mandates for children younger than age 5 will not be lifted because these children are not eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

"Masks will continue to be required for all settings with children under 5 years of age, including programs contracted by the New York City Department of Education with 3- and 4-year-old children as well as 3K and 4K classrooms in district schools," the mayor said.

Additionally, today we're announcing a new color coded system for our current #COVID19 alert level. As of today, we're at a low-alert level. Follow @NYCHealthy for more information:https://twitter.com/nychealthy/status/1499772972017532930\u00a0\u2026
— Mayor Eric Adams (@Mayor Eric Adams) 1646422374

"When you looked at those under 5, they were more likely to be hospitalized," Adams said. "People wanted to say let's lift it across the board. But that's not what the science is telling us."

Children under age 5 are at an extremely low risk of COVID-19 mortality. According to CDC data, a total of 307 children have been recorded with "COVID-related" deaths since the pandemic began two years ago, out of approximately 20 million children in the U.S. between ages 0-4. Studies have found deaths from COVID-19 among children to be "incredibly rare."

COVID-19 vaccine mandates will also remain in effect, the mayor announced. Employees are still required to be vaccinated unless they have received a reasonable accommodation from their employer.

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In leaked audio, CDC director tells lawmakers there will be no changes to school mask guidance



CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told lawmakers there are no plans to change the federal guidelines requiring students to wear masks in schools, according to a report.

"The CDC provides guidance," Walensky said during a briefing to the House Energy and Commerce committee. "Our guidance currently is that masking should happen in all schools right now."

Leaked audio from the closed-door meeting on Tuesday was reported by Reason. Walensky, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Dawn O'Connell, spoke to lawmakers about federal COVID-19 guidelines, gave updates on vaccines, and answered questions about the pandemic.

According to Reason, lawmakers from both parties criticized the CDC's mask guidance, and Walensky was challenged to explain why federal guidelines appear to be out of step with the latest science.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the ranking Republican on the committee, observed that a major study from Arizona used by the CDC to support school mask mandates is seriously flawed and pressed Walensky to change the federal guidance to be more in line with science and with the international community.

"What we see in the U.S. is an outlier as it relates to the mask mandate for our children to go to school," McMorris Rodgers reportedly said. "[The World Health Organization and UNICEF] have both recommended against masking for kids under the age of 5 because it's going to do more harm than good. For children ages 6 to 11, they think that we should be considering other factors like learning and social development. My question today, my one question, is Dr. Walensky, will you commit to update your guidance by Friday to allow children in person without the burden of masks?"

Walensky did not commit to changing the CDC's guidance by Friday, even though she acknowledged that the Arizona study has "limitations," Reason reported.

"They all have limitations, and that's important to recognize because we are not randomizing schools," she told McMorris Rodgers. "We have to control for whether there are windows, ventilation, and other activities happening outside of these schools. So all of these studies have limitations. But they are for the most part uniformly pointing to that when there's a lot of disease out there, the masks are preventing that disease and preventing that transmission and because of that we are able to keep our schools open."

Another lawmaker, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), demanded that Walensky explain how the school masking guidance is justified.

"Explain why we need to keep allowing school districts to impose a mask mandate on kids," he asked.

Responding, Walensky defended the agency's current guidance and noted that schools are free to disregard the CDC's recommendations, if they so choose.

"I will also say that guidance is just guidance, and all of these decisions, we've continued to say, have to be made at the local level," she reportedly said. "As cases come down dramatically, we have deferred our guidance to the local jurisdictions."

"That's not acceptable," Palmer told her. His frustration is understandable, given that school districts across the nation refer to the CDC's guidelines to justify masking requirements, and in states with statewide mask mandates for schools, those mandates also rely on the CDC's recommendations.

Walensky also faced tough questions from Democrats. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) highlighted the discrepancy between the CDC's masking guidelines and the real-life behavior of people in America, even in progressive areas like the San Francisco Bay Area that Eshoo represents.

"You hear the word confusion over and over again," Eshoo said. "But here's another one for you: masking. You know where I live in the Bay Area, the peninsula in the heart of Silicon Valley? Schools, cities, towns, counties: you're saying one thing, and they're doing something else. And this is a highly educated area, too. I trust our public health officials here. So my first question and my second point to you, Dr. Walensky, why do we have to be on two different tracks? Isn't there some kind of public health consensus about this?"

According to Reason, Walensky attempted to reply with national statistics about there being 170,000 cases per day and 2,200 deaths per day on average, but Eshoo cut her off.

"When you use the national figures, that's not a snapshot of where we are, so can you take that into consideration as you're giving me an answer?" Eshoo said.

"Absolutely," Walensky said. "We know that all of these decisions have to be made at the jurisdictional level. So not only do we report the national data, but we have to report them at the jurisdictional level, because we know that we ask the jurisdictions to look at their local context, to look at their local cases, to look at how their hospitals are doing, to look at their local death rates. And that is exactly what I think is happening across the country in a phased way. Many different policies are rolling out. Some are saying they're removing masks. Now some are saying they're removing masks at the end of the month. Some say we're removing masks at the end of the month, but not yet for schools. And so this is really happening at the jurisdictional level. And what we're recommending is that given right now, where we are for cases, that the masks should still stay on."

Her answer did not satisfy Eshoo, who warned that the CDC is damaging its credibility by excusing some states and local jurisdictions for easing mask mandates without changing its national guidance for mask-wearing.

During public remarks Wednesday, Walensky said the CDC is reviewing its mask guidance with an eye toward giving people a "break from things like mask-wearing," but she reiterated that coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, as counted by the CDC, are still too high and that for now, the guidance will remain unchanged.

Two Washington school districts defy governor, vote to make masks optional. Now they face retaliation from state government.



Two school districts in Washington state have voted to make masks optional for students and staff, in violation of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's statewide mask mandate.

School board members in Kettle Falls, Washington, voted Monday night to lift the masking requirements after Inslee announced plans to begin easing some mask mandates. The school district in Richland voted 3-2 Tuesday night to make masks optional as well.

In an announcement on Facebook, the Richland School District said schools would be "in an emergency closure" on Feb. 16 so school administrators could "plan a path forward."

"We ask for your patience as the district works to ensure our schools can continue to serve all students," the school district said.

In response to the vote in Kettle Falls, the state government warned that schools that violate the mask mandates could lose state funding, KREM-TV reported. The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction notified Kettle Falls School District that failure to comply with the mandate could result in penalties.

"If KFSD does not take action to be in compliance with the mandate, I am prepared to take further steps as defined in the rules to withhold, and eventually reduce, state funding," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said in a letter to the district.

"You are aware that Stevens County has had over 8,000 COVID cases, 500+ hospitalizations, and tragically 120+ deaths since the start of the pandemic. Stevens County remains the county with the lowest community vaccination rate in the state of Washington. I am confident that without masking in schools and in our communities, especially before vaccines were widely available, the loss of life in your county would have been much worse." the letter continued.

A spokesperson from the state superintendent's office said school districts that willfully violate the mandate will get an official notice. If they do not come into compliance within 20 days, the state will withhold a monthly payment and then will reduce funding until the schools are brought into compliance.

“School board actions do not supersede state laws, which are being applied here using the latest science and best public health practices," Inslee press secretary Mike Faulk added in a statement to KREM.

"The science tells us masks work. They are an easy way for people to keep each other safe. Throughout the pandemic they have helped reduce infection in congregate settings where people have lower vaccination rates, including schools,” Faulk said.

Some of the school board members in Kettle Falls said they would have preferred to wait for the governor to lift the mask mandates, rather than risk losing state funding.

“I am all for de-masking our kids, I do have concern with the liabilities we would take on,” board member Chip Johnson said.

“It’s simply a matter of days or a couple of weeks before our state lifts the mandate,” Kettle Falls school board Chairman Matt Langrehr added. According to KREM, both men abstained from Monday night's vote while three other board members agreed to make masks optional.

Board member Brett McKern, who voted to end the mask mandate, said he was not confident Inslee's administration would follow through on promises to lift the statewide mask mandate.

“I wish I felt the same, that I was confident in change coming soon but I have heard that for two years,”he said.

Inslee said last week the state's outdoor masking rule will end on Feb. 18, but he did not say when the indoor mask mandate would end, only that "the day is coming" when COVID-19 restrictions would end as cases and hospitalizations continue to drop.

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