Video: Is Massachusetts ready for no masks? Boston doctor offers her opinion
Updated: 6:15 PM EST Feb 8, 2022
>> YOU’RE WATCHING WCVB NEWSCENTER 5 AT 5:30. ED: MORE COMMUNITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS ARE DROPPING THEIR MASK MANDATES, EVEN AS THE ONE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS REMAINS IN PLACE. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. HELEN BOUCHER, THE INTERIM DEAN OF TUFTS MEDICAL SCHOOL AND AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENR.TE GREAT TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. ERIKA: AS YOU KNOW, EVERYONE IS EAGER TO MOVE ON FROM THIS PANDEMIC SAFELY. AND FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, MOVING ON MEANS NO MORE MASKS. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU’RE READY TOO? D YOU THINK WE ARE READY? DR. BOUCHER: I THINK IT’S TIME TO START TALKING ABOUT IT. I’M NOT QUITE READY AND I WILL POINT OUT THAT EVEN IN THE MUNICIPALITIES THAT HAVE MADE ISTH DECISION, THERE ARE STILL CLEAR GUIDANCES ON WEAR MKSAS ARE NEEDED, PLACES LIKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND HIGH-SKRI ENVIRONMENTS. SO I THINK, I HOPE PEOPLE CAN BE PATIENT A LITTLE LONGER. THE NUMBERS ARE STILL HIGHER THAN WE WOULD LIKE AND THEY NEED TO BE TOTALLY SAFE. ED: I KNOW I’M PARSING THINGS BUT IN SOME COMMUNITIES PEOPLE , DON’T HAVE TO WEAR A MASK IN A STORE OR A RESTAURANT, BUT THEY DO HAVE TO WEAR IT IN SCHOOL. DO YOU THINK THE STATE SHOULD CONTINUE TO KEEP A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR CLASSROOMS? DR. BOUCHER: THAT IS A HARD QUESTION. I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF FOCUS ON SCHOOLS AND THINKING ABOUT THE RIGHT WAY TO START DIALING BACK THE MEASURES. WE REALLY WANT STUDENTS ANDUR O CHILDREN TO HAVE THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL, BUT TO BE SAFE. I THINK WE WILL SEE SOME MOVEMENT IN THAT REGARD. THE DECISIONS ARE MADE BY DIFFERENT GROUPS AS YOU POINTED OUT. THE COMMISSIONER OF ECADUTION AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS ARE OPERATING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLSND AHE MUNICIPALITIES FOR KIND OF THE REST OF US, AND THERE WILL BE SOME DISCONNECT. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THEIR RISK AND MAKE DECISIONS THEY FLEE ARE IN THEIR BEST SAFETY, AND THAT MEANS AVOID CSELORO CWDED SPACES INDOORS WITH POOR VENTILATION ESPECIALLY, AND IF YOU AREN’T VACCINEDAT, BE EXTRA CAREFUL. ERIKA: WE WANT TO GET TO SOME VIEWER QUESTIONS. THE FIRST ONE IS FROM LUANN. SHE WRITES, “I AM A 67-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN VERY GOOD HEALTH. I RECEIVED THE J&J VACCINE, AND THEN MY BOOSTER IN NOVEMBER. SHOULD I GET A BOOSTER AGAIN FROM EITHER PFIZER OR MORNDE”A? DR. BOUCHER: GOOD NEWS, YOU ARE FULLY VACCINATED AND UP-TO-DATE. YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE ANY OTHER VACCINATIONS AT THIS TIME. :ED THIS QUESTION COMES FROM OTSCT. IT MAY SOUND SIMPLE BUT I’M CURIOUS TO HEAR YOUR ANSWER. “WHICH COVID VACCINE HAS THE FEWEST SIDE EFFECTS FOR ME”N? DR. BOUCHER: THIS IS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF EVOLVING DATA. THERE WAS DATA EARLIER ON ABOUT MYOCARDITIS OR HRTEA INFLAMMATION ON YOUNG MEN, AND LUG CLOTS IN YOUNG WOMEN WITH THE J&J VACCINES BUT THE TRUTH IS, WE NOW KNOW THERE IS MORE MYOCARDITIS IN PEOPLE WITH COVID THAN THE VACCINES BY MANY ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE. THE BLOOD CLOTS ARE VERRAY RE BUT THEY HAPPEN IN BOTH GENDERS. I WOULD SAY EITHER VACCINE IS EQUAY LLSAFE AND VERY SAFE IN PROTECTING YOU FROM SERIOUS ILLNESS ANDED ATH. ED: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU. ERA:IK IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR EXPERTS, SEND IT TO ASK @ WCVB
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Video: Is Massachusetts ready for no masks? Boston doctor offers her opinion
Updated: 6:15 PM EST Feb 8, 2022
More and more communities in Massachusetts are dropping their indoor mask mandates, even when the one for public schools remains in place.
More and more communities in Massachusetts are dropping their indoor mask mandates, even when the one for public schools remains in place.
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