GOP state lawmakers in Ottawa County have sent a letter to the county’s Administrative Health Official preemptively discouraging mask mandates for schools.
Earlier this week, Dr. Lisa Stefanovsky, Ottawa County’s Administrative Health Officer received a letter signed by Republican legislators Luke Meerman, Brad Slagh and Roger Victory who wrote, “We are urging you resist instituting any mandates from your office” adding, “As legislators, we have focused on getting decision making at the level that is closest to the people, and we ask you to follow this same philosophy as it relates to the education of our kids.”
The message doesn’t sit well with Linda Vail who heads the group Public Health Over Politicians.
“We are not simply bureaucrats. We are experts and we are being villainized and attacked at the same time COVID-19 cases are on the rise.”
As Ingham County’s Chief Health Officer, Vail says the position requires science and medical qualifications used for protecting communities from public health threats. She notes state legislators don’t tell MDOT engineers how to do their jobs.
When it comes to the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, the focus is protecting students under the age of 12 who are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.
“We know we need to get our kids back to face-to-face learning. And, right now, this mask is a very effective way to keep classrooms safe in a way that we don’t have to exclude as many kids from school, and that should be important to everyone.”
From the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all are recommending students return to the classroom in areas where COVID-19 transmission is high.