Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Photograph ©2021 by Brian Cohen.
Brian Cohen·
Health and Environment
··6 Comments·3 min read

Appeal of Vacated Mask Mandate Officially Requested by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This mask mandate issue just will not die.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States has officially requested that the Department of Justice of the United States proceed with an appeal of the decision which a federal district judge ruled that the federal mask mandate for modes of public transportation in the United States was unlawful and further cited that the agency exceeded the authority of health officials in the United States during the current 2019 Novel coronavirus pandemic.

Appeal of Vacated Mask Mandate Officially Requested by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The following media statement was posted at the official Internet web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

To protect CDC’s public health authority beyond the ongoing assessment announced last week, CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al. It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary.  CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDC’s legal authority to protect public health.

CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. CDC’s number one priority is protecting the public health of our nation. As we have said before, wearing masks is most beneficial in crowded or poorly ventilated locations, such as the transportation corridor. When people wear a well-fitting mask or respirator over their nose and mouth in indoor travel or public transportation settings, they protect themselves, and those around them, including those who are immunocompromised or not yet vaccine-eligible, and help keep travel and public transportation safer for everyone.

The Department of Justice of the United States already officially announced that it will also appeal the aforementioned decision.

“The Court DECLARES UNLAWFUL and VACATES the Mask Mandate, remanding it to the CDC for further proceedings consistent with this order”, ordered Kathryn Kimball Mizelle — who is the United States district judge who presided over case 8:21-cv-01693-KKM-AEP at the United States District Court, Middle District, Tampa Division. “The Court directs the Clerk to TERMINATE President Joseph R. Biden, Jr, as a Defendant to this action, to ENTER final judgement in favor of Plaintiffs as prescribed in this order, and to CLOSE this case.”

The judge ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States had applied flawed reasoning to their perspective of the cases and the Public Health Services Act of 1944 that had given the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the basis for their mask mandate in the first place.

As the result of the aforementioned ruling, official announcements had been issued from most airlines which are based in the United States and Amtrak which inform that masks are no longer required to be worn by passengers and members of flight crews while aboard their airplanes.

Final Boarding Call

Barry Graham — who is a reader of The Gate — summed up this situation rather succinctly: “The DOJ would have been better off leaving things as they are. The majority of people seem to be excited about the change and relieved that this mandate is over. Even if that is not the case, if, as is likely, the appeal is lost, it will do more harm to the CDC than has already been done. If the appeal is won, the already battered President will look worse and there will be a huge backlash.” I generally agree with his comment.

See also

My thoughts and opinions have not changed since the first signs of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus started appearing long before the pandemic was officially declared on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, as I already wrote in this article yesterday, Wednesday, April 20, 2022: “How bizarrely befitting of the debacle that has been the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic that the repeal of wearing masks and cloth coverings for the mouth and nose has been ending just as it started: with mass confusion, debates, and lawsuits and appeals as the result of conflicting opinions, misinformation, and advice…”

The current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic has existed for greater than two years. Cases will continue to occur. The time has passed long ago for everyone to accept that we will be living with this as part of our lives indefinitely and move on with living our lives.

Photograph ©2021 by Brian Cohen.

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6 Comments

  1. Pingback: Appeal of Vacated Mask Mandate Officially Requested by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Travel Blogs

  2. I respectfully disagree with Brian’s comment at the end about “moving on with living our lives.” Masks do not prevent living our lives. Masks actually extends life.

    The court did not rule on the efficacy of masks. One fault the court ruled on was that the CDC did not have the usual notice and public comment period. Since when has the public cheered about that? Ok, CDC, give legal notice and have a public comment period.

    Pandemics do get better and end. This pandemic will do the same. However, having politicians or judges ruling to rip off your mask will not make that happen. The coronavirus does not take orders from the President or the House of Representatives. The virus does not get tired of infecting people. What stops it are anti-viral methods such as barriers to transmissions (like masks), immunity (like vaccination), etc. Natural immunity from past exposure is highly variable. Sometimes, it’s great. Other times, someone gets infected again 3 weeks later.

    Covid-19, even mild cases, has been shown to result in brain shrinkage. I do not want my brain smaller. As the United Negro College Fund says “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”. One politician said “what a waste it is to lose one’s mind or not to have a mind”.

    Reply

    1. I appreciate the response, derek.

      Last night at the Freddie Awards, I met someone whom I had met before. He told me that he was vaccinated and had no fewer than three booster shots. He still became infected with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus afterwards.

      Another person told me that he was infected with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. He was then fully vaccinated; and he was eventually infected again.

      Some people are unvaccinated and never contracted it at all — despite being out and about in the world.

      Any disease will have different effects on different people, in my opinion. Two people could be in a room with someone who has a contagious common cold virus. One person might catch it and unfortunately experience the full effects of it; while the other remains benign. Or, one person could be infected with one virus and experience its full effects but may seemingly be immune to a different virus. This could be the result of myriad factors — including the effectiveness of one’s immune system and possibly certain hygiene practices. No one person — no matter how much experience and knowledge he or she may have — can fully explain or understand the reasons why.

      Regardless of the status of the mandate, if a person feels safer and more comfortable wearing a mask or covering of the face, then by all means that person should do so. If a person would rather not wear a mask, that should be his or her choice. Neither person should be vilified for their choices.

      I respect your thoughts and opinions, derek. In my opinion, respecting one another is one of the major things which has largely been missing over the course of the last 2.5 years…

      Reply

      1. The current vaccines are so-so against omicron variants. Moderna has already made an updated vaccine but it was developed before omicron. They are working on an omicron vaccine. That’s why quite a few vaccinated people still get Covid-19. Some don’t get sick because they have some immunity from a vaccine that is not specifically directed at the variant that is trying to infect them.

        I view N95 masks as an easy weapon against coronavirus. My lungs are strong enough that I can force air in and out without effort. Someone with emphysema probably has a harder time to do that.

        One advantage I have is I don’t live in Georgia, which has hot summer weather. Cooler summers make it easy to wear masks.

        I have to admit that I don’t take all precautions. If outdoors with some people, I sometimes wear a surgical mask. When I am in a grocery store, I wear an N95. I don’t want to get sick from something as boring as grocery shopping. When people make their own decisions, they should try to make the best decisions and carefully think through their choices. Saying “I’m tired of masks” suggests to me that such person is either not carefully thinking through their choices or is not articulating their thought process well.

        Reply

    2. I know several people that contracted COVID (to my knowledge I did not). If their brains shrunk, it did not cause a noticeable difference in their intelligence or ability to function. I am not a brain surgeon or a doctor but I did read that only a small fraction of our brain power is actually put to use (especially mine…).

      Reply

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