Poli Alert Political & Civics
Related Articles
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to proceed with its appeal of a ruling issued by a Florida judge on Monday, which tossed out the Biden administration’s travel mask mandate.
“To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al. It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health,” the statement reads.
“It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health,” the agency added.
The CDC order requiring masks for travelers had been set to last until May 3, when many experts expected it to expire anyway.
While the mask mandate will remain suspended for the time being, and likely was going to expire soon anyway, a major reason public health experts had pushed for an appeal is to preserve the CDC’s legal authority for the future.
“This change in policy sets a really challenging precedent for how public health is done in this country. A single judge overturning a mandate driven by public health professionals means that we’re unnecessarily putting many people at risk,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC contributor.
Dr. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease expert and editor-at-large for Kaiser Health News, told “CBS Mornings” that the CDC’s extension was the “appropriate” and “cautious” approach.
“We know that this virus mutates. In fact, it’s mutating very rapidly,” she said. “We will see more variants, and we will see other pandemics after COVID. So I do think the idea of stripping ourselves of an essential tool and toolbox is a really bad idea.”
