On the COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates, some state and local Democrat leaders are beginning to soften.
As omicron’s initial increase fades, several Democrat mayors and legislators are relaxing requirements that individuals show evidence of vaccination, wear masks inside, or send their kids to school wearing a mask.
The senior researcher for domestic policy analysis at the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, Doug Badger, says “it’s clear these various non-pharmaceutical approaches just didn’t work.”
Denver Was First
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared on January 31 the city would not renew its emergency order requiring masks and proof of vaccination for access to Denver businesses.
Some of us have been getting suspended, deplatformed, shadow banned, and “fact checked” for almost 2 years now for saying this obvious truth: MASK MANDATES ARE TOTAL BULLSHIT pic.twitter.com/yrZrn0LiON
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) February 12, 2022
No masks are required in Denver schools after February 26. Mayors of other big cities, such as Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, have yet to make similar pronouncements.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said last Tuesday there are 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day in Boston, according to MassLive, but other governors are lifting emergency orders statewide.
Gov. Phil Murphy said last Monday that schoolchildren and personnel would no longer be compelled to wear masks starting March 7.
Additionally, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared last Monday the end of indoor masking in the state. New York, Illinois, Oregon, Connecticut, and Delaware are all proposing to get rid of mask laws.
Same Viral Rates
After the first epidemic in the spring of 2020, other states that never had those regulations witnessed comparable infections, hospitalization surges, and reductions.
Who’s willing to wager on whether or not we’re gonna start to see a whole lot more of these headlines? 🙋🏽♀️ https://t.co/z4HgsrBXcP
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) February 12, 2022
“The localities, states, and cities that had laws and other limitations in place faced the same rates of COVID infection and hospitalizations,” Badger noted.
According to a recent Johns Hopkins University research, “Lockdowns and non-pharmaceutical measures like mask regulations had little to no influence on COVID-19 mortality.”
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared in January that fabric masks give the least protection. This marks a notable shift from what the CDC has previously said.
The Mayo Clinic announced in late December that patients and families must wear a medical-grade facial covering. While they acknowledged that certain cotton masks might provide adequate protection, many did not.
The CDC is the only global health body advising masks for 2-year-olds. According to a Monmouth University survey released on Jan. 31, 70% of Americans want to embrace COVID-19 and go on with their lives.
“That unvaccinated individuals are squeezing ill patients out of hospital beds does not convince unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. That much is apparent,” says Badger. “However, you increase divisions, harsh sentiments, and cynicism about what public health officials advise.”
The acceptance that non-medical measures, such as masks, do not affect the spread comes as a relief to parents and the average American pleading with authorities to lift the absurd mandates.
