In Leaked Audio, CDC’s Rochelle Walensky Privately Confirms She Won’t Relax School Mask Guidance

Walensky acknowledged “limitations” of available studies but told a congressional committee “our guidance currently is that masking should happen in all schools.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have no plans to change their recommendation that all U.S. schools require students to wear masks, according to an audio recording of a closed-door House Energy and Commerce committee briefing obtained by Reason.

“The CDC provides guidance,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky can be heard saying on the recording. “Our guidance currently is that masking should happen in all schools right now.”

The Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hosted the briefing, which took place virtually on Tuesday and was attended by Walensky, White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci, and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dawn O’Connell.

Walensky faced criticism—from members in both parties—that the CDC’s guidance is confusing and out of step with human behavior at this stage of the pandemic. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R–Wash.), the committee’s ranking Republican member, challenged Walensky on the science behind school mask mandates, noting that the Arizona study oft-cited by the CDC in support of masking kids has been thoroughly debunked by The Atlantic. – READ MORE