Most NC schools going ‘mask optional’ are in areas that have low vaccination rates, too

As COVID cases once again surge across North Carolina, more of the state’s school districts are choosing to make indoor masking optional. But in three quarters of those districts, county vaccination rates are below 50%.

The News & Observer is tracking the mask policies of North Carolina’s 115 total school districts, most of which are organized by county, but with some city school districts inside those counties.

State guidelines in the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit (K-12) align with CDC recommendations for universal indoor masking in all schools, kindergarten through grade 12.

But ultimately, it has been left up to local school boards to set their own policies on whether to mandate masks or make them optional.

As of Aug. 6, 54 of North Carolina’s 115 districts have decided on optional masking, while at least 43 districts have decided to require masking in schools. Not all counties have decided on or announced their mask policy.

Here’s what we know about those districts:

▪ Of the 54 districts with optional masking, all but one (Watauga) are in rural or “red” areas that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

▪ Of the 43 districts requiring indoor masking, the political split is more even: 22 are in counties that voted for Joe Biden and 21 are in counties that voted for Trump.

▪ As of Aug. 6, the counties where school districts have optional mask mandates have an average vaccination rate of 45%, below North Carolina’s rate of 55%.

▪ Of the 54 districts with optional masking, Harnett County and Rutherford County have the lowest vaccination rates for people age 12 and over, with just 36% of eligible population being fully vaccinated as of Aug. 6. Graham County and Columbus County have a 37% vaccination rate for that group.

▪ Of the 54 districts with optional masking, Dare County by far has the highest vaccination rate, at 69%.

▪ Of the 54 districts with optional masking, only 13 counties are at or above 50% vaccination rates for ages 12 and up.

Here’s a list of counties with optional masking policies in public schools along with the percentage of population age 12 and up that have been fully vaccinated noted in parentheses.

• Alexander (40%)
• Alleghany (53%)
• Ashe (48%)
  
  
• Beaufort (49%)
  
  
• Burke (41%)
  
  
• Cabarrus and Kannapolis (49%)
  
  
• Caldwell (42%)
  
  
• Carteret (52%)
  
  
• Catawba and Newton Conover (49%)
  
  
• Cherokee (38%)
• Chowan / Edenton-Chowan (48%)
  
  
• Clay (39%)
  
  
• Cleveland (42%)
  
  
• Columbus and Whiteville (37%)
  
  
• Currituck (39%)
  
  
• Dare (69%)
  
  
• Davidson (41%)
  
  
• Davie (51%)
  
  
• Gaston (43%)
  
  
• Graham (37%)
  
  
• Harnett (36%)
  
  
• Haywood (51%)
  
  
• Henderson (52%)
  
  
• Iredell (46%)
  
  
• Johnston (47%)
  
  
• Jones (44%)
  
  
• Lincoln (45%)
  
  
• Macon (55%)
• Madison (52%)
  
  
• McDowell (44%)
  
  
• Mitchell (42%)
  
  
• Moore (54%)
  
  
• Pamlico (52%)
  
  
• Pender (45%)
  
  
• Perquimans (40%)
  
  
• Polk (43%)
  
  
• Randolph (38%)
  
  
• Rowan (48%)
  
  
• Rutherford (36%)
  
  
• Sampson / Clinton (44%)
  
  
• Stokes (40%)
  
  
• Swain (39%)
  
  
• Transylvania (51%)
  
  
• Tyrrell (42%)
  
  
• Union (50%)
  
  
• Watauga (53%)
  
  
• Wayne (44%)
  
  
• Wilkes (39%)
  
  
• Yadkin (43%)
  
  
• Yancey (45%)

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 3:20 PM.

Brooke Cain

The News & Observer

Brooke Cain is a North Carolina native who has worked at The News & Observer and McClatchy for more than 30 years as a researcher, reporter and media writer. She is the National Service Journalism Editor for McClatchy.