Washington, D.C. – The rapid spread of the COVID-19 delta variant has spooked people who thought the pandemic had ended. Policymakers have called the rise in new infections associated with the strain first encountered in India alarming even though the data suggest strongly the latest variant strain, while perhaps easier to contract, is far less lethal than the original.
Like the disease for which it is named, America’s COVID crisis continues to evolve. The end of the lockdowns in most states has people back to work, unmasked, and happy – even as some public health professionals are urging a renewed mandate to put them back on. All that, combined with the lack of clarity coming from groups like the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers means that no parent can be sure the schools run by the government will offer full-time, in-class instruction when and if they reopen in the fall.
All this could have been avoided if the rush to lockdowns had been slowed and while greater thought was given to a plan to segregate out and protect the most vulnerable populations which, it has been lost on some people, does not include K thru 12 school-age children. Given the difference in approach to containing COVID taken by the governors of red states compared to those who lead blue states, it is not surprising to learn Democrats are hoping that masks and vaccines not yet approved for children under the age of 18 will be mandated before schools are allowed to return to pre-COVID instruction.
According to a recent survey by Rasmussen reports, just over a third of all Americans said they believed children should have to be vaccinated for COVID before they can return to the classroom. Of those, more than half – 56 percent – were Democrats. Only 29 percent of Republicans agreed.
The data, Rasmussen reports said, showed a “strong correlation” between support for masking children and for forcing them to be vaccinated. “Among Americans who think schools should require children to wear masks to protect against the coronavirus, 68 percent also think schools should require children to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Among those who oppose schools requiring children to wear masks, 79 percent are also against schools requiring children to get the coronavirus vaccination.”
The split along party lines on the issues is clear. Majorities of Republicans (61 percent) and independents (52 percent) said they opposed a vaccine requirement. Likewise, on the issue of masks, 58 percent of Democrats said they thought masks should be required as part of the basic back-to-school outfit while only 27 percent of Republicans thought this would be a good idea. Almost two-thirds of GOPers – 60 percent – and as well as a plurality of independents, the polling firm reported, said they were opposed to the mandatory classroom masking in K thru 12 classrooms.
The pollster found white Americans “slightly more in favor of schools requiring children to get the COVID-19 vaccine than blacks or other minorities” while blacks were “more supportive” than whites or other minorities regarding a requirement children wear masks. And that upper-income Americans were more in favor of requiring children to get vaccinated, with 48 percent of those earning $200,000 a year or more “favoring mandatory vaccination” while just 36 percent of those earning less than $30,000 a year agreed.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. American Adults was conducted on July 13-14, 2021. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.
Peter Roff can be reached at RoffColumns AT GMAIL.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com
Peter Roff
Peter Roff is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations and is a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
They want to control peoples children.
When you go after children , you control the parents and grandparents. It’s All about controlling the American people.
Declare the dumbocraptic party a terrorist organization
Y’all are playing into their hand. Stop the chatter about a virus. Every year we get new flu and the media has never reacted this way. Media on the left and media on the right SHUT UP ABOUT A VIRUS.
We know it is a corona virus but is the “delta variant” really just 2021 flu being hyped as part of “plannedemic” to keep people afraid?
YES, Thom, you are right. ‘Tis naught but FEARmongering by the Lefties who would control the wussified, pussified populace.
You know…the dark spiritual forces of evil FEED on people’s fear. This is in the Holy Scriptures. We can fight back by listening to people like you…who give the Godly consel to “…fear not!”
Sleepy Joe Biden administration Democraps are corrupt, lying and clueless!
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! IT WILL END UP BEING HOMESCHOOLED! THOSE REPTILES WILL NOT TURN MY KIDS INTO HYBREDS LIKE THEM!
NO WAY HERE! KIDS ARE LESS RECEPTICLE FOR THIS ” FLU ” THAN OLD FOLKS! MASK’S ALL DAY, ” DESTROYING THERE LUNGS ON BREATHING IN AND OUT THE SAME AIR ALL DAY! “
I keep hearing people moaning and complaining about children being required to be vaccinated. When I and my siblings all started school in the 1940’s we had to have been vaccinated.
NO.
The Dems want to herd us like sheep! As far as I know, there is no covid-19 vaccine specifically made for or SAFE for kids to receive . WHY are the Dems promoting this, CRT, & teaching all kinds of “sex” to little kids? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Is this designed to turn kids against their parents? Washington is straight from Hell!
Unconstitutional! It is an experimental drug and kids are getting heart problems. Do they want to kill our kids. Wha about letting all these illegals in with covid? That does not seem to bother any9one.
The CDC does not agree with this. What happened to follow the science? They only say that when it makes the Dems secure in power. Load of BS. Masks are endangering the children. Tell these jerks to buzz off.
The only reason they want our children to be vaccinated with the lethal ‘shot’ that is not researched or passed any sort of true medical muster at all, is to be sure they too will die in as many numbers as possible or carry on with the harmful things in the shots that will get them later on in life too! DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN BE VACCINATED WITH ANYTHING THAT IS NOT PROVEN BEYOND ALL DOUBT…IT IS A FARCE LIKE THE REST OF THIS SO CALLED ‘PANDEMIC’–PLANNED-DEMIC is WHAT HAS BEEN AND THEY ARE CONTROLLING AS MANY AS THEY CAN WITH THIS FARCE!! Yes, people do get sick that have underlying things that make them more sick, but it is purposefully given to us and they know it!!! Wake up and research-and read, get educated …this is to harm NOT HELP!
And are the illegals going to be masked etc.? this is anti Constitutional. Wake up and pray America. We are being destroyed from within.
Before “getting spooked” by the delta variant, check the “science.” You can argue the CDC data is flawed, but it is all we have. It is not showing spiking cases and doesn’t show this variant to be especially “dangerous” at all. “Cases” are not the same as “deaths” or even serious illness. Hospitalizations are way, way, way down, as are deaths. You can study other viruses and they follow a similar pattern of evolving for greater spread, but weaker effect. That’s what is happening here. Put down that mask and go have fun. Definitely, don’t freak out about your kids getting sick. The number of kids with serious COVID complications that don’t have a serious comorbidity you could count on your hands. https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/COVIDNet/COVID19_5.html