the debate over masking up is heating up and there have been announcements on the issue every day this week. People will have to mask up in metro Nashville government buildings. Now, Georgia's governor says mandates don't work, but the state's most populous county just reinstated its indoor mask mandate. Arkansas's governor says he regrets banning mask mandates in hindsight. I wish that had not become law, but in texas there will not be any government imposed shutdowns or mask mandates. And Missouri State attorney general filed a lawsuit over Kansas City's indoor mask mandate. But perhaps the most heated part of this debate is over masking up in schools. The governors of Nevada and Illinois ordered masks in schools. Some districts in Mississippi and Arizona will require them to and the mayor of Columbia south Carolina made the same decision, but in colorado people are protesting masks in schools and florida's governor signed an executive order banning school mask mandates, But some districts are pushing back. We need to keep all protocols and that includes mask wearing. Let us get through this surge and then we can move forward because moving forward is exactly what delta is doing. The CDC says it now makes up more than 93% of new cases. I'm Brett Conway reporting.
Some states banning mask mandates in schools also have fewest teens vaccinated
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Updated: 6:10 PM CDT Aug 7, 2021
(CNN) -- As kids head back to school this month, vaccination rates among adolescents tend to be lower in states that have banned mask mandates in schools than in states that will require masks in schools, a new CNN analysis finds.About 8 million adolescents -- representing about a third of those ages 12 to 17 -- have been fully vaccinated so far, according to data published Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks since they completed a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the only vaccine authorized for those under 18.So far, CNN has identified at least seven states -- Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah -- that have prohibited mask mandates in schools at the state level. Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he regrets approving a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year and has called the state legislature into a special session in an effort to amend the law.Most of these states have vaccinated a smaller share of adolescents than the national average, including Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arkansas, which have each vaccinated fewer than one-fifth of adolescents.Meanwhile, at least six states -- Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and Washington -- require masks in schools, each of which has fully vaccinated a larger share of adolescents than the national average, including Connecticut, which is one of only three states to have vaccinated more than half of adolescents. Idaho was not included in CNN's analysis of CDC data, as data on adolescents by that state were not available.As of Wednesday, the states that have vaccinated the most young people, according to the CDC's data, are:Vermont: 61% of adolescents fully vaccinatedMassachusetts: 55%Connecticut: 51%Rhode Island: 49%Maryland: 49%The states with the fewest adolescents fully vaccinated, according to the CDC's data, are:Mississippi: 11%Alabama: 11%Louisiana: 13%Wyoming: 15%Tennessee: 17%However, a recent rise in vaccinations across the United States might lead to a rise in the percentage of teens vaccinated in those states. Across all ages, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States has risen steadily over the past three weeks, particularly in several Southern states with poor vaccination rates and strong hesitancy against the shot, according to a separate CNN analysis of CDC data.Over the past two weeks, adolescents specifically have represented a larger share of new vaccinations than their share of the total population, CDC data shows. As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations nationwide have recently increased, largely attributed to the spread of the more dangerous delta variant, so did the seven-day average of new vaccine doses administered -- up 26% from three weeks ago. Most people with severe cases of COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The spike in vaccinations is most striking in several Southern states dealing with lagging vaccination rates.Alabama's average, for instance, is more than double three weeks ago. The state has the country's lowest rate of its total population fully vaccinated, at 34%. Gov. Kay Ivey, on July 23, called out "the unvaccinated folks" for the rise in COVID-19 cases there.Arkansas, with just 36% of its population fully vaccinated, also has seen its average daily rate of doses administered double in the last three weeks. Louisiana, which had by far the most new cases per capita last week and only 37% of its population fully vaccinated, saw daily vaccination rates rise 111% compared to three weeks ago.
(CNN) -- As kids head back to school this month, vaccination rates among adolescents tend to be lower in states that have banned mask mandates in schools than in states that will require masks in schools, a new CNN analysis finds.
About 8 million adolescents -- representing about a third of those ages 12 to 17 -- have been fully vaccinated so far, according to data published Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks since they completed a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the only vaccine authorized for those under 18.
So far, CNN has identified at least seven states -- Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah -- that have prohibited mask mandates in schools at the state level. Arkansas Republican he regrets approving a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year and has called the state legislature into a special session in an effort to amend the law.
Most of these states have vaccinated a smaller share of adolescents than the national average, including Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arkansas, which have each vaccinated fewer than one-fifth of adolescents.
Meanwhile, at least six states -- Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and Washington -- require masks in schools, each of which has fully vaccinated a larger share of adolescents than the national average, including Connecticut, which is one of only three states to have vaccinated more than half of adolescents. Idaho was not included in CNN's analysis of CDC data, as data on adolescents by that state were not available.
As of Wednesday, the states that have vaccinated the most young people, , are:
- Vermont: 61% of adolescents fully vaccinated
- Massachusetts: 55%
- Connecticut: 51%
- Rhode Island: 49%
- Maryland: 49%
The states with the fewest adolescents fully vaccinated, , are:
- Mississippi: 11%
- Alabama: 11%
- Louisiana: 13%
- Wyoming: 15%
- Tennessee: 17%
However, a recent rise in vaccinations across the United States might lead to a rise in the percentage of teens vaccinated in those states. Across all ages, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States has risen steadily over the past three weeks, with poor vaccination rates and strong hesitancy against the shot, according to a separate CNN analysis of CDC data.
Over the past two weeks, adolescents specifically have represented a larger share of new vaccinations than their share of the total population, CDC data shows. As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations nationwide have recently increased, largely attributed to the spread of the more dangerous delta variant, so did the seven-day average of new vaccine doses administered -- up 26% from three weeks ago. Most people with severe cases of COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The spike in vaccinations is most striking in several Southern states dealing with lagging vaccination rates.
Alabama's average, for instance, is more than double three weeks ago. The state has the country's lowest rate of its total population fully vaccinated, at 34%. Gov. Kay Ivey, on July 23, in COVID-19 cases there.
Arkansas, with just 36% of its population fully vaccinated, also has seen its average daily rate of doses administered double in the last three weeks. Louisiana, which had by far the most new cases per capita last week and only 37% of its population fully vaccinated, saw daily vaccination rates rise 111% compared to three weeks ago.
