Arkansas Governor reverses decision on mask mandate ban, citing Delta variant concerns

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) admitted he was wrong in his decision to sign a bill prohibiting mask mandates, noting that "facts change and leaders have to adjust to facts."

"When I sighted that law, COVID cases were low [and] we were hoping that the whole thing was gone in terms of the virus, but it roared back with the Delta variant. I realized that we needed to have more options for our local school districts to protect those children," said Hutchinson in an interview on CBS: "And, so I asked the legislature to redo the law that prohibited those requirements or those options for the school districts to protect the children… it was an error to sign that law. I admit that."

Hutchinson emphasized that local authorities needed flexibility and options to manage situations in their area, "now that we have that local flexibility for schools to make their decision to protect children based upon the unique circumstances of their district."

He pointed to the situation in the Marion County School District, which has one of the highest per capita case counts in the states, and where nine hundred students, faculty and staff are in quarantine after being exposed to COVID. With vaccinations lacking full FDA licensure, children under the age of twelve cannot be immunized.

"If we’re going to have a successful school year, school districts like Marion need to have that option to require masks for those lower grades or make the decision that is suitable for their community," said Hutchison, stressing that "vaccines and flexibility of local school districts" would "be the key" to a safe school year.

However, Hutchinson made his position on mandates clear: "I don’t support a vaccine mandate." He after that clarified his stance, "we can do it through education, but I do expect that broader acceptance of the vaccine, I do expect that some employers in ‘sensitive’ industries will require vaccines."

Arkansas has experienced an increase in vaccination rate as concerns about the Delta variant mount, with 60 percent of the Natural State having received one dose against COVID-19.

Hutchinson linked slower uptake to a lack of FDA licensure for COVID vaccines, which are currently only administered under emergency use authorization and urged the agency to act and get the vaccines fully approved. "The FDA has to act," he said, "we’ve got well over 100 million Americans that are fascinated. They’re not going to come in now and say, 'well, that shouldn’t have been approved.'"