The decision was made after the CDC concluded that a "order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for public health." The agency went on to say that it "will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order is still required." The department notified the court that it would file an appeal later that day.
According to the CDC, the mask mandate is a "lawful order that falls well within the CDC's legal authority to protect public health." The agency has the authority to take measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases across state lines.
Administration officials debated the political and legal ramifications of such an action for more than a day. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump appointee, ruled on Monday that the mask mandate exceeded the CDC's authority under decades-old federal public-health law and violated rule-making procedures. The Justice Department stated on Tuesday that it would only file an appeal if the CDC deemed such an order necessary.
The move has no effect on the mask mandate, which cannot be enforced unless the Biden administration wins its appeal or obtains a stay of the court's order. The Transportation Security Administration, which lifted the mask requirement in response to the judge's ruling, referred questions about enforcement to the Justice Department, which did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released Wednesday, a majority of Americans (56%) support requiring masks on planes, trains, and public transportation, with 24 percent opposed and 20 percent neither in favor nor opposed.
Wearing masks is especially important in crowded or poorly ventilated environments, such as modes of transportation, according to the CDC. While airplanes have good ventilation, crowds in airports, according to some experts, can pose a risk.
Masks protect both the wearer and those around them, including people who may not be well protected by vaccines and are more likely to become seriously ill from Covid-19 due to immunocompromism, according to the CDC. Wearing masks also protects young children who are not yet eligible for vaccines, according to the agency.
Several studies have found that wearing masks reduces the risk of Covid-19 infection significantly. According to a report published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in February, using a N95 or KN95 respirator mask in indoor public settings reduced the odds of testing positive for the virus by 83 percent. The researchers discovered that using a surgical mask reduced the odds of testing positive by 66%, while using a cloth mask reduced the odds by 56%.
The judge's decision was the latest in a string of court decisions that have left the Biden administration with dwindling legal options for Covid-19 mandates. It also coincided with a shift away from mask mandates in the United States, even in Democratic-controlled states on the East and West coasts. An appeal allows the Biden administration to persuade a higher court to overturn the Florida ruling, which could be useful if the White House decides to pursue a mask mandate in the future.
An unsuccessful appeal, on the other hand, could make it more difficult for the administration to reimpose mask-wearing requirements if the country is hit with another significant wave of Covid-19 infections and deaths.
The CDC announced on April 13 that it had decided to extend the mandate until May 3 to assess the potential impact of a recent increase in Covid-19 cases in the United States due to the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant.