Arizona ban on school mask warrants criticized by health experts

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PHOENIX Health experts fear the recently approved Arizona budget, which bans public schools and universities from applying mask warrants and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, endangers public health in statewide.

In a virtual panel convened by the Committee to Protect Health Care, a national advocacy organization that aims to fight for quality, affordable health care that protects patients from benefits, experts weigh in on how the legislation, along with Gov. Doug Duceys’ June 15 executive order banning masks in schools, could prolong the pandemic in Arizona.

Students are linked to community epidemics, including in Arizona, and they accounted for 72% of all school-related cases in Maricopa (county) at some point last spring, said Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs, professor of epidemiology at the University. from Arizona. Banning schools from adopting a simple, cost-effective, scientifically-proven safety measure like wearing masks while we are still in the midst of a pandemic makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.

Arizona’s daily COVID-19 cases have declined since March, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, with only several hundred new cases per day now compared to thousands of new daily cases earlier this year. However, in recent weeks that number has increased slightly.

The state’s low vaccination rate was also a major concern for the panel experts.

Only 23.5% of Arizona’s youth, ages 12 to 17, have been vaccinated, said Dr. Ricardo Correa, director of the endocrinology program at the University of Arizona. Policymakers and politicians must do better for Arizona and for the children of our state, who deserve elected leaders who will use science and other resources to keep them safe during a pandemic.

The health department says 49.9% of Arizona’s eligible population have received a COVID-19 vaccine since the vaccines became available in January. The state has reported more than 898,000 cases of COVID-19 and 18,000 deaths since January 2020.

Duceys’ decree said students could not be mandated to take the COVID-19 vaccine or submit COVID-19 vaccination documents. Under the ordinance, students also cannot be required to take a test or wear masks to participate in learning.

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Public education is a public right, and taxpayers pay for it, Ducey said on his website. We need to make our public universities available for students to return to learning.

Arizona State University is studying how to comply with the new policy while ensuring student safety.

ASU will comply with the governor’s decree / legislation regarding COVID-19 protocols, Katie Paquet, vice president of media relations and strategic communications for ASU, said in an email. We continue to encourage students to get vaccinated and expect people to follow CDC guidelines.

The Tucson Unified School District, the largest K-12 school district in southern Arizona, is also adjusting to meet new state mask requirements, according to an email from Karla. Escamilla, the District Senior Coordinator for Media and Communications.

Advocates for the Committee to Protect Healthcare have shared similar concerns about language in the state budget.

Another alarming fact is that this decision by the legislature comes as Arizona has seen a 16% increase in COVID cases in the past two weeks last Tuesday, Rob Davidson, executive director of the committee, said in a report. E-mail. Arizona has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, which is why putting on masks in schools and colleges is badly needed right now, but the legislature refuses to see their importance.

The organization plans to hold lawmakers in Arizona and across the country accountable for bills related to COVID-19 and to ensure that the voices of health experts and scientists are heard.

With so much misinformation, it’s important for Americans, especially during this public health crisis, to get the truth from those who have been on the front lines of this pandemic from the start, and whose top priority is to have the best interests of patients. mind, Davidson said.

We also use our state health professionals to build a relationship with lawmakers to shape policies that include science and truth.

Section 12, Title 15, Chapter 3 of the Arizona Budget states: Notwithstanding any other law or ordinance, a county, town, city, school district board or school governing body in charter may not require the use of face coverings by students or staff during school hours and on school grounds; and

A school district or charter school cannot require a student or teacher to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or wear a face covering to participate in in-person instruction.

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