Video: Boston doctor discusses lifting of mask mandates for public transportation
Updated: 5:08 PM EDT Apr 20, 2022
MARIA: MASK MANDATES ARE DISAPPEARING QUICKLY FOR MOST TRAVELERANS D COMMUTERS, EVEN AS THE COVID- L19EVEL IN LOCAL WASTEWATER CONTINUES TO TICK UP. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION IS DR. SHERRY JEROME, AN EPIDEMIOLOGIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER .SHAYNA: MOST AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS ARE MASK OPTIONAL. SHOULD ANYONE CONSIDER CHANGING THEIR TRAVEL PLANS? >> I DON’T THINK SO. I THINK WE NEEDO T DISPENSE WITH TH E IDEA THAT MY MASK PROTECTS YOU AND YOUR MASK PROTECTS ME, WHICH WAS A CONCEPT BUILT OUT OF MARCH 2020 WHEN WE WERE URGED TO CREATE MASKS OF ROU OWN. THOSE CLOTH MKSAS WERE NOT EXPEEDCT TO WORK VERY WELL. EVERYONE NEEDED TO WEAR THEM IN ORDER TO SEE AN EFFECT. WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF MEDICAL GRADE MASKS, PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO DO SO CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES WITHOUT HAVING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT OTHERS ARE CHOOSING TO DO. MARIA: FAC MASKS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED ON MBTA TRNSAI OR BUSES. HOW DOES THAT CHANGE THE INFECTION RISK FOR COMMUTERS? >> IF YOU ARE VACCINATED AND BOOSTED, YOU ARE WELL PROTECTED AGAINST SEVERE COMPLICATIONS FROM COVID9 REGARDLESS IF YOU WEAR A MASK. IF YOU WEAR A MEDICAL GRADE A MASK OR RESPIRATOR, YOU ARE WELL PROTECTED AGAINST INFECTION, AND WE HAVE A BUNCH OF EFFECTIVE PROTECTIVE MEDICATIONS. SHAYNA: WE ALL KNOW HIGH QUALITY MASKS COST MONEY. HOW OFTEN WOULD SOMEONE WHO RIDES A BUSR O TRAIN EVERY DAY HAVE TO BUY A NEW MASK? >>HE TRE AREN’T A LOT OF DATA ON THAT. YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR MASK WHEN IT IS DIR,TY WET, OR TORN, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH QUALITY MASKS ANOT COST TO THOSE WHO WOULD BENEFIT. MARIA: CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN FIVE ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR VACCINES. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR FAMILIES THAT USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND ARE THINKING ABOUT INFECTION RISK? >> YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS LIKE WEARING A HIGH QUALITY MASK, BUT IT IS WORTH REMEMBERING IN GENERAL UNVACCINATED CHILDNRE ARE AT A LOWER RISK THAN VACCINATED ADULTS. THERE WAS A RECENT CDC PUBLICATION THAT SHOWED COVID IS LESS OF A RISKO TCHILDREN UNDER 12 THEN FLU WAS IN THE THREE YEARS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC. ALTHOUGH NO ONE WANTS THEIR. CHILD TO GET SICK WITH ANYTHING, THE RISK TO THEM IS IN LINE WITH OTHER RISKS THAT ARE CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE.
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Video: Boston doctor discusses lifting of mask mandates for public transportation
Updated: 5:08 PM EDT Apr 20, 2022
Most airlines and airports are now mask optional, while the MBTA has also lifted the mask requirement for its trains and buses.
Most airlines and airports are now mask optional, while the MBTA has also lifted the mask requirement for its trains and buses.
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