Thread by @APDillon_

NSJ dialed in to today's COVID briefing and was just shut out of questions like we were in the past.
FTR, I logged into the call at the earliest time and was the first one logged in.
#ncpol

https://twitter.com/APDillon_/status/1453426125301063682

This was the first briefing in a month and Cooper only took a handful of questions inside of a 35-minute timeframe.
#Ncpol

One Q I had for Sec. Cohen is the concern parents have that mask removal guidance seems to hinge forcing them to get their kids vaccinated.

Another would have been why are we focusing on possible vax req's for K12 kids when there are no such mandates for adults or Education staff.
/more

Noting 40% (30M kids) have some kind of natural immunity already, multiple FDA committee members balked at pushing kids to get the EUA shot they approved yesterday.
/more

Dr. James Hildreth said, “It just seemed to me that in some ways we’re vaccinating children to protect the adults when it should be the other way around."
/more

Dr. Cody Meissner: “I’m just worried that if we say yes, that the states are going to mandate administration of this vaccine to children in order to go to school, and I do not agree with that." She said that would be an error" until they get more information about the safety.

Kim Witczak (consumer rep. on the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Cmte):
“Is there really an emergency with this age group? Or is it being driven by a larger political agenda?”

Given that hundreds of healthy kids are being quarantined despite masks, I wanted to ask Cohen about the strain this is placing on districts. They are not equipped to perform tasks that the public health dept. should be doing.