Stop the Banning of Masks in Schools

Last month, despite the Delta variant of Covid steadily spreading across the United States, Governor Mike DeWine declared that students would not be required to be vaccinated against Covid for the upcoming school year. Now as of writing this, there have been over 3,000 confirmed Covid cases in one day alone this week, a rate that has not been seen since last February, with a large majority being unvaccinated and showing symptoms of the Delta variant. While this is happening, State Representative Mike Loychik is seeking cosponsors for a bill that would ban the requirements of masks in schools. This decision is unacceptable and would jeopardize the health of many young Ohioans, since vaccinations for those 12 and under are still not approved for emergency use by the FDA. Health organizations like the CDC and the WHO have spent the past year and a half assuring the public that wearing a mask is one of the most effective preventative measures to keep one's self safe from being exposed to Covid, both before and after vaccinations became wildly available to the public. We are calling on local government officials in the Great state of Ohio to not only stop this bill from going through, but to also stop any future attempted bans on mask requirements in schools until the threat of Covid and all variants have been eliminated.