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  • The Hawkeye

Mask Mandate

Updated: Nov 17, 2021

By Kylie Maddox, Managing Editor


The Biden administration mandates a new COVID-19 plan which would require federal government workers and contractors associated with the federal government to be vaccinated and companies with over 100 employees must either be vaccinated or require their employees to be tested weekly, in addition to wearing masks. President Biden’s also requiring all healthcare workers to be vaccinated. The objective of this plan is to keep school’s open safely, vaccinate the unvaccinated, further protect vaccinated Americans, increasing testing and requiring masks, protecting economic recovery, and improving healthcare for COVID-19 patients.

To combat unvaccinated rates, President Biden is ordering companies for paid time off for vaccine appointments. In addition, will make vaccine appointments more readily available and push for more vaccine requirements in the workforce.

In furthering protecting the vaccinated, the CDC and the Biden Administration, is currently advocating for “booster shots”, these shots would be considered a third and final vaccine shots that would give vaccinated Americans, according to the CDC, the best line of protection against the virus. However, the booster shots are still seeking authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDCs Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The raising rates of testing and the re-requirement of masks also support in protecting vaccinated Americans, in addition to protecting unvaccinated Americans.

The plan to keep schools open safely has been requiring masks, raising vaccination rates in students and staff, performing screen-tests, creating better ventilation in schools, and practicing social distancing. To support schools in this time, the government issued a $130 Billion dollar American Rescue plan, which funds schools in remaining open by having schools follow the CDC health guidelines, assist in students academic-growth, address inequities caused by the pandemic, and put efforts into assisting the physical and mental health issues that followed the pandemic.

In President Biden’s economic recovery plan, over 4 million Americans have found jobs, averaging around 750,000 jobs per month. The unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest percentage since the beginning of the pandemic and more than 70% of Americans have supported that finding jobs and employment has been much easier. President Biden still promises small businesses economic relief as in his plan relies on the economic growth of small businesses.

To support healthcare with COVID-19 patients, President Biden composed the Surge Response Team. The Surge Response Team is composed of over 1,000 healthcare workers that are sent to states with high surges of COVID-19 reports. This response team has provided hundreds of critical medical supplies for hospitals and medical centers, as well as, provide assistance with healthcare systems in funding and set up free-testing sites to further stop outbreaks.

The Biden Administration faced lots of criticism and questioning of whether or not his plan is constitutional. The state of Arizona files first of lawsuits against the new COVID-19 plan and restrictions in ruling that it was “unconstitutional”.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich files first lawsuit against the administration's plan.

“The Biden administration has no authority under the Constitution to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, period...This is a heavy-handed attempt by the federal government that shows big government at its worst, not its best.” Brnovich said.

Brnovich has said that the Biden Administration and federal government are overstepping their power and forcing Americans to be vaccinated. Political figures in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida have all made comments in disagreement with the new mandate and rules, similar to Brnovich. However many find Brnovich filing to the court against the Biden Administration to be nonsensical since the Department of Labour has not even begun enforcing the rules of the Biden’s Administration COVID-19 plan. The White House has already begun their defense team for lawsuits against the administration's COVID-19 plan as it was anticipated that there would be public disagreements over the new rules and mandate.

However the Constitution does rule that President Biden’s executive order is constitutional. Under the Occupational Safety and Health of 1970 and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. The Constitution supports the vaccination requirements. The OSHA and Commerce Clause allows the Secretary of Labour to enforce these requirements.

“An emergency temporary standard” for health and safety affecting interstate commerce if he or she determines “employees are exposed to grave danger from substances or agents determined to be toxic or physically harmful”

When asking fellow Newtown Highschool students their own opinions on whether the administration's COVID-19 plan will help promote the safety of Americans, this is what they had to say.

“Yes, I think it’s going to help a lot, because unvaccinated people spread covid much more than vaccinated people, and vaccinated people are still at risk if there are unmasked, untested, unvaccinated people around them” NHS Senior Camille Paradis said.

When asking another student, this is what they had to say,

“I do think it’s preventative since it would catch cases before they can spread it to coworkers, which would ultimately affect many Americans by furthering help to protect them from others, such as coworkers, or people they see so often” NHS Senior Naiya Amin said.

When asking about whether or not they view the new requirements being constitutional each student shared their opinions.

“Yes, the mandate is constitutional, the mask does not impede any of our constitutional rights, or violate us in any way” Paradis said.

“I think it is constitutional. It doesn’t impede on your rights in any way and is a matter of public safety and sanitation (it’s like how you need to wear clothes in public- it’s just what you do for yourself and others)” Amin said.

Further investigation is being brought on the legality of the administration's new mandate and the White House has promised more information and their next steps on combating against the COVID-19 pandemic in weeks to come as they begin the process of enforcing the new mandate and regulations.

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