Opinion: S.C. Schools Deserve Mask Mandate Option as Virus Surges

Opinion/Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The time is now to reverse the prohibition of mask mandates in South Carolina public schools. 

As S.C.hospitals fill up, cancel elective surgeries and the surge in COVID-19 cases, including children under the age of 10, have pushed the state into the top spot for cases per 100,000, the time for aggressive leadership from Columbia is overdue.

Cases are approaching the numbers seen in the pre-vaccine era in January, with the state now averaging more than 5,000 new cases and a seven-day average of 45 new deaths based on Sept. 8 data.

Meanwhile only 44 percent of eligible citizens (those under the age of 12 remain ineligible) are fully vaccinated in South Carolina. That is 41^st in the nation.  

Anderson County closely reflects statewide trends, with 43 percent of eligible citizens are fully vaccinated. 

The school year has brought a new wave of cases and other frustrations created by quarantines, and school districts remain hamstrung by the state law forbidding the requirement of face coverings.  

In Anderson County close to 1,000 cases of the virus has been reported among students, teachers and staff, and another 3,000 have been quarantined after exposure. This is a major impediment to the goal of a full year of in-person classroom learning.

Not allowing schools to require face masks is a major contributor to the spread of the disease, along with the inability of the schools to require vaccines for all employees.

Research has found that masks are most effective when worn by everyone. Every major medical organization agrees with this finding, but also finds masks are particularly helpful in slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

For the State of South Carolina to remove the option of school districts to require masks is unnecessarily creating tremendous disruption in the public schools. From the health risks of infection to the multi-challenges created for parents when their children are sent home for quarantine, to the absence of teacher in classrooms who daily face exposure to the virus, the problems created by the law are many. 

Statewide more than 17,000 children under the age of 10 have tested positive for COVID-19 since school started this year (up from 1,142 for the same period last year). These numbers do not reflect ages 11-18. Children’s hospitals across the state are struggling to meet the demand for treating such surging numbers. 

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster suggests the decision on students wearing masks at school should be up to parents, an argument which falls apart quickly since all students are already required to get the Mumps, Measles Rubella vaccine before being allowed in the classroom. Schools also require all manner of other social and academic standards, from clothing to course requirements, none of which are left up to parents. To cherry pick face mask requirements is disingenuous and a political stunt and nothing more. 

State Attorney General Alan Wilson successfully defended the policy recently before the State Supreme Court which overruled on district’s challenge to the law.  

Vaccines are still the most potent weapon in the battle, but the COVID-19 vaccine has been removed from the health care discussion and tossed into the realm of political extremism.  

The percentage of those filling hospitals, especially Intensive Care Units, are comprised of more than 85 percent unvaccinated patients. That number is higher in many hospitals. 

Anderson School Dist. 5 is to be lauded for exploring multiple avenues to get employees and eligible students vaccinated by offering financial bonuses. The offers have boosted employee vaccination rates by more than 25 percent and several hundred students have taken advantage of a $100 bonus and received the vaccination. 

Inevitably, the plan faced opposition and public protestors, but most who attended the first event (another is scheduled) were neither parents or grandparents of students in the district and most of the leaders who spoke live outside the district. 

Health care facilities, including AnMed and Prisma, are now requiring vaccinations, or regular testing for those with medical/religious reasons for not taking the vaccine. The “religious exemption” is being exploited in many corners. In the United States, only Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Amish and Scientologists routinely deny some or all mainstream medical health care. Others, such as those who regularly take medications or seek medical attention for other ailments who suddenly decide it’s against their religion to take a vaccine to curb a worldwide pandemic are hard to take seriously. 

Frontline medical workers in doctors’ offices and hospitals are also growing increasingly exhausted and frustrated. Non-vaccinated individuals are the source of overcrowding which threatens the lives of many who need medical care but for whom there is no room in hospitals. Nationally some health officials are advising folks to wear a seatbelt, be cautious about riding your bicycle, avoid any high-risk activities that could lead to an emergency room visit because there is no room at the inn.  

There are currently 125 COVID-19 patients being treated at AnMed, and more than 85 percent of those patients are unvaccinated, including almost all in the ICU.  

Arguments by those who outright reject the vaccine are shallow, self-centered and will contribute to the continued war with the mutating variants of this virus for the foreseeable future. 

South Carolina deserves leadership which is committed to the health of all of its citizens, especially during a virus which shows new signs of spreading faster than at any other point, including the pre-vaccine era. 

Fast action to suspend the provisio forbidding local school districts to make their own decisions concerning mask mandates, could help keep in-person education moving into cold-weather months a sustainable reality, and protect the lives of teachers, students and their families. The move would also send a message of encouragement and support for the stressed-out educators who are trying to offer quality teaching to students while managing a deadly, fast-spreading disease. 

Local governments could be an ally for schools in this effort. The state’s attorney general said the law does not “outright reject the possibility that a local government could impose a mask mandate without contravening Proviso 1.108.” 

Citywide or countywide indoor masks ordinances could extend to all public buildings, including schools, which would provide a way to circumvent the state law which hopefully will be overturned by the courts soon. 

Until then, mask and get vaccinated, and show some compassion for those who are most vulnerable.