Cobb BOH Supports Universal Masking, Vaccinations In Cobb Schools

COBB COUNTY, GA — As positive COVID-19 cases increase among school-aged children in Cobb County and pediatric COVID-19 testing has spiked over 400 percent among Cobb residents, the Cobb County Board of Health is urging local schools to implement districtwide mask-wearing protocols and required COVID-19 vaccinations.

The Cobb BOH approved a "position statement" at an emergency meeting Tuesday supporting universal mask wearing and COVID-19 vaccinations in both public and private schools in the county.

The statement approval came after Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb & Douglas Public Health, and Dr. Danny Brantstetter, an infectious disease specialist with Wellstar Health System, gave presentations overviewing what COVID-19 looks like in Cobb County:

• Cases are nearing an all-time high, with a case rate of 845 cases per 100,000 Cobb residents.
• More children are being tested for COVID-19, with a 462 percent increase in tests among Cobb children under age 18 from July to August.
• 94 percent of COVID-19 patients at Wellstar Cobb Hospital are unvaccinated, while 88 percent of COVID-19 patients at Wellstar Kennestone and Windy Hill hospitals are unvaccinated.

"We know multilayered cloth masks block most large droplets, and they can also block the exhalation of fine droplets as well. This is very important as a tool and it's not perfect, but it really goes a long way to helping us to reduce transmission," Memark said, citing that 50-70 percent of fine droplets and particles are blocked by cloth masks, with some blocking up to 80 percent. "It's irrefutable, the effectiveness of masking in COVID-19."

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Association of Pediatrics recommend universal masking in school buildings for anyone older than 2 years of age.

The board consists of eight members, who are either appointed or automatically on the board due to their role: Lisa Cupid, chair of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners; Chris Ragsdale, superintendent of the Cobb County School District; Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools; Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin; BOH Vice Chair W. Wyman Pilcher III; Pete Quinones, CEO of MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service; BOH Chair Dr. Carol Holtz; and Wellstar Dr. Paula Greaves.

Ragsdale abstained from the vote, Rivera was absent from the meeting and the six other members voted in favor of the position statement. Ragsdale said requiring young children, particularly elementary-age children, can negatively affect students and can be difficult to enforce.

He also mentioned that the position statement read aloud during the meeting was not the same as the one sent to the board earlier Tuesday, so he was "not totally comfortable being asked to vote on something I've not read."

In an earlier draft of the position statement, the BOH listed eight measures for reducing COVID-19 spread: promoting vaccinations, testing, social distancing, improving ventilation, hand-washing, encouraging students and staff to stay home when sick and routine cleaning measures.

The only one CCSD has not implemented is universal mask wearing, Ragsdale said. He also said the approach was working: 3,700 total students and employees tested positive for COVID-19 between July 1 and last Friday, according to Ragsdale. In a district with roughly 110,000 students and 18,000 employees, that means 97 percent of the district does not have COVID-19 as of publication.

Meanwhile, the six other members voiced support for the position statement. Quinones said the spread of the virus among children threatens public health in more than one way: more than half of unscheduled paid time-off requests from his employees have been because a child is sick.

"That hampers our ability to deliver emergency care in all markets that we serve, and it's not exclusive to just MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service, it's also firefighters, police and other first responders," Quinones said. "We are definitely in support of some mitigation to help with the reduction of kids [coming in contact with COVID-19]."

State Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, told The Marietta Daily Journal after the meeting that CCSD Board of Education Chair Randy Scamihorn was "getting confusing messages from the Department of Health" on COVID-19 mitigation measures, and Tuesday's vote should help clarify what public health officials think about mask wearing and vaccinations.

However, Scamihorn told The MDJ it didn't clarify anything, and that following CDC guidance has always been recommended by the CDPH and Cobb BOH. He said a discussion on the harms of mask wearing for students would've been more helpful.

"It would be informative if they present both sides," Scamihorn said.