Some states banning mask mandates in schools also have fewest teens vaccinated

(CNN) - About 8 million adolescents -- representing about a third of those ages 12 to 17 -- have been fully vaccinated so far, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully vaccinated means that it has been two weeks since they completed a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the only vaccine authorized for those under 18.

So far, CNN has identified at least seven states -- Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah -- that have prohibited mask mandates in schools at the state-level. Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he regrets approving a statewide ban on face mask mandates earlier this year and has called the state legislature into a special session in an effort to amend the law.

As kids head back to school this month, vaccination rates among adolescents tend to be lower in states that have banned mask mandates in schools than in states that will require masks in schools, a new CNN analysis finds.

https://us.cnn.com/2021/08/05/health/covid-19-vaccinations-for-teens-state-rankings-analysis/index.html