On the day when New York City public schools lifted mask mandates for students over five years of age, parents, teachers and health care advocates rallied outside City Hall on March 7 to condemn the continued mask mandate for students under five years of age.
The rally, organized by the group Protect Our Toddlers, also presented a lawsuit filed by attorney Michael Chessa in the New York County Supreme Court challenging the city’s decision to continue to enforce the mandate for younger children. The mask mandate remains in place for the one demographic for whom a COVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved by the FDA — which denies them the same protection to vaccinated older children and adults.
