Two Major Updates (August
1) on the following story:
First from Dr. Anthony
Fauci and then from Dr. Francis Collins who both take issue with Gov. DeSantis
(main story below) addressed in the story from
the Guardian here.
Specifically
here from Dr. Collins also on Florida’s ban on mask mandates.
FL has now came under
increasing scrutiny from government health officials as the surging “Delta variant”
pushed new daily cases of COVID-19 in FL to a record high of 21,683 new cases
reported on Saturday was Florida’s highest one-day total since the start of the
pandemic.
It also came one day after
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed
an EO prohibiting school districts from requiring staff and students to
wear masks.
Dr. Collins said that he was baffled by the prohibition, the latest in a
series of autocratic moves by DeSantis including outlawing
vaccine passports and stripping
local authorities of the power to issue restrictions or mandates,
saying: “I don’t understand the ban. Certainly this seems like something local
officials ought to be able to decide based on their community’s circumstance. We
do know that children are capable of getting pretty sick, we’ve lost about 400
children who have died from COVID-19 since this all started, and kids can also
get long COVID where they ended up months later with difficulties with brain
fog and fatigue that interferes with their school performance. So, this is not
to be just dismissed as a zero risk. Kids also live in homes, are related to
people there who are perhaps immunosuppressed. They could bring home the virus
and cause bad outcomes.”
Original post follows:
Based on the following story, I want to remind Gov. DeSantis
(R-FL) to review history and government actions that he now ducks in his duty
and responsibility for the safety and health of everyone in FL.
The CBS
News story headline and highlights follow:
“Florida governor signs order
letting parents decide if kids wear masks in schools”
First this short history
lesson for Gov. DeSantis:
From
History.com – timely article during the CoVID pandemic and the new deadly
“Delta” variant with this headline:
“When the U.S. Supreme Court Ruled a
Vaccine Could Be Mandatory”
The high court 1905 decision provided a powerful and controversial precedent for the flexing of government authority.
That case is Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
Lawyers argued that the Cambridge
vaccination order (and $5.00 fine) was a violation of Mr. Jacobson's 14th Amendment rights, which forbade the state from “depriving any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” At question, then, was
whether the “right to refuse vaccination was among those protected personal
liberties.”
The high court rejected Jacobson’s argument (7-2) and dealt the anti-vaccination movement a stinging loss.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Marshall Harlan acknowledged the fundamental importance of personal freedom, but also recognized: “That the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”
That decision established what became known as the “reasonableness test” wherein
the government had the authority to pass laws that restricted individual
liberty, if those restrictions, including the punishment for violating them, “...were
found to be a reasonable means for achieving a public good.”
Highlights from the Executive Order DeSantis signed on Friday (July 30),
and his stated purpose: “To protect parents' freedom to choose whether
their children wear masks in schools. The federal government has no right to
tell parents that in order for their kids to attend school in person, they must
be forced to wear a mask all day, every day. Many Florida schoolchildren have
suffered under forced masking policies, and it is prudent to protect the
ability of parents to make decisions regarding the wearing of masks by their
children.”
Impact of DeSantis’ EO:
It bars school districts from forcing students to mask up, despite new guidance
from the CDC, and as COVID-19 cases climb in the state like never before.
This week, the CDC said masks should be required of everyone inside
K-12 schools.
His EO concludes:
“District school boards that are unwilling or unable to comply with the EO will
be susceptible to losing state funding.”
The CDC also has stated that mask wearing is a critical step people can take to prevent getting and spreading COVID-19.
Studies have shown their effectiveness. In one recent study — a peer-reviewed study of mask adherence and COVID transmission across the U.S. that was published in April — researchers found that 14 of the 15 states that had no mask policy for the public from April to September 2020 had a high rate of COVID-19.
Eight states had at least 75% mask
adherence during that time frame, the study found, and of those, none reported
a high rate of the virus.
The most-critical part of this story comes as FL now is experiencing its highest numbers of daily COVID cases to date.
On July 30, the state had 110,724 new cases – a record high – and 409 deaths (re: Johns Hopkins University).
More than 160 people in FL 29 years or younger
have died from COVID-19, including seven children under the age of 16.
The FL Hospital
Association says: “The average age of individuals hospitalized with
COVID-19 is younger than previous peaks.”
Hospital Association
President and CEO Mary C. Mayhew said in a statement: “The virus has a new
target: the unvaccinated and younger people. Previously healthy people from
their teens to their 40’s are now finding themselves in the hospital and on a
ventilator. What you heard last year and last spring about this virus mostly
targeting seniors and those with pre-existing conditions is not true today.”
The association also said that more than 95% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 in FL
are people who are not fully vaccinated. As of July 30,
there were 9,329 confirmed COVID hospitalizations in FL.
This very timely and important story continues at the CBS
link here and above – check it out.
Related analysis of the poor
legislative state of affairs in FL.
My 2 Cents: I have never
been a fan of Gov. DeSantis – he is too arrogant, stubborn, and yes “Trump-like”
in his nearly thug-like statements and actions.
Now FL is paying the price
(again), yet, he pulls this stunt about masks.
It’s hard to figure
DeSantis out. Either he is totally stupid, getting poor advice from is
advisors, or just playing it coy as a warmup to 2024 – which I think is his overall
game strategy. But what he is showing is not leadership – at least not in my
view.
Will keep watching this
story and update as necessary.
Thanks for stopping by.
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