After listening to the public, the Altoona Area School Board… during a meeting held last night at the high school, voted in favor of rejecting a mask mandate. It means masks will be optional for both students and for vaccinated employees. Unvaccinated employees will be asked to wear masks when indoors. The vote came after nearly an hour of public input, in which many agreed that even with a mask mandate, the virus will still spread. They cited the fact that last year there was a mask mandate, and it didn’t eliminate the virus. There were more than two dozen parents and others who showed up for the meeting last evening, with many saying mask wearing is simply fear-mongering, citing what they said was evidence that proves masks are not effective. Some even contended that mask wearing is “child abuse” and it is not backed by science.
