Republicans challenge CDC guidelines: ‘Children are paying the price’
House Republicans sent the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a letter Monday challenging its guidelines for face masks and virtual learning.
Reps. Steve Scalise, James Comer, Jim Jordan, Mark Green, Nicole Malliotakis, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks sent the letter to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky saying, “America’s children are paying — and will continue to pay — the price for the CDC’s decisions for years to come.”
In the letter, the House Republicans called on the agency to provide scientific evidence for continuing its guidelines, arguing its quarantine guidance forces students to undergo virtual learning unnecessarily.
CDC guidelines for quarantining state that anyone who is not fully vaccinated should “stay home and quarantine for at least five full days [while wearing] a well-fitted mask if you must be around others in your home.”
“There are major health, social, developmental, and educational risks to keeping children home from school,” the letter stated. “Student learning loss due to remote or hybrid learning is astronomical — failing grades are rising.”
The letter also noted the guidelines' impact on early education and childcare centers where entire classes must close if a child tests positive.
“These isolation policies are ineffective, especially in light of the transmission and infection rate for this age group,” the representatives wrote. “The CDC’s guidelines make it impossible for parents to maintain any regular work schedule or find childcare on short notice.”
The representatives also challenged the CDC’s face mask guidelines noting research that shows a lack of effectiveness and evidence of causing significant problems.
“Practically speaking, children who need glasses have difficulty seeing when the mask fogs their lenses, masks cause severe acne and other skin problems, and they can be a distraction for children trying to learn,” the letter said. “More importantly, studies show that reading lips is a crucial part of language development for children.”
“Covering a child’s face mutes these nonverbal forms of communication and can result in robotic and emotionless interactions, anxiety, and depression,” the letter added.
The CDC noted research indicating people "can have difficulty inferring emotion from facial features" covered by a face mask but cited interventions have circumvented the concerns. The agency states that "experimental and epidemiologic data support community masking to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, including alpha and delta variants, among adults and children."
The letter asked for a staff briefing to be scheduled no later than Feb. 7 to address the concerns raised.
Current states to require face masks in indoor public spaces include California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. Many states have lifted general mask requirements while schools continue to enforce them.
The CDC did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.