Brett Giroir: States are causing ‘irreparable harm' to kids by keeping schools closed
The Former Assistant Secretary for Health slams states that refuse to reopen schools.
Former Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir asserted Monday that states are causing "irreparable harm" to kids by keeping schools closed.
Students need to return to school "immediately", Gioir told "America’s Newsroom" and jurisdictions like California, Washington D.C., and Oregon are negatively impacting children by sticking with virtual learning.
"One thing I want to make sure that everybody knows is we should have our children back in school now no matter what," he said.
Giroir added that once individuals have gotten both doses of a vaccine, they should be able to meet with extended family and gather for upcoming holidays such as Easter.
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However, Gioir stopped short of saying that vaccinated people can freely go out to stores or restaurants without a mask, citing potential "public health issues" and "uncertainty" until more people get vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that schools can open for in-person learning without vaccinating teachers "even in areas of the highest community spread" with proper safety precautions.
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"We have a consensus among non-political medical experts — including top CDC leaders who wrote in the top medical journal, JAMA [the Journal of the American Medical Association], three weeks ago — that schools do not contribute to transmission, a position that contradicted the official CDC guidelines," said Fox News Medical contributor Dr. Marty Makary, a physician and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
Despite the scientific data and guidance, President Biden's plan to reopen schools within 100 days has faced opposition from teachers' unions due to safety concerns, leaving reopening plans at a standstill for the moment.
Fox News' Bryn McCarthy contributed to this report.