Keep Mask Mandate in Healthcare Settings in Massachusetts
The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.
Governor Maura Healey’s recent policy decision will not sufficiently protect those most vulnerable to Covid. The Governor announced that Massachusetts’s COVID-19 public health emergency will end May 11, 2023, the same time as the Federal Public Health Emergency. According to the MA Association of Health Boards (MAHB), any mandates will be lifted at that time, unless legislative action is taken. MAHB reports that the Administration will be filing legislation to extend three public health orders: staffing in out-of-hospital dialysis, the Medication Administration Program, and ambulance staffing. Thus, unless the public demands action from the legislature and the Administration, mask mandates in healthcare settings – hospitals, nursing homes, and medical offices – will be lifted. This is terrible public health policy, especially for those whose health is most at risk.
Effective public health policy means looking out for the community, not solely one’s individual health. Yet, with Covid, the ideology is often “individual choice, individual risk assessment.” While this logic may work to some degree in settings such as restaurants and stores, it is not effective for healthcare settings where people often do not have a choice to abstain. We certainly do not want a repeat of the tragic high death toll from Covid at facilities such as the Veterans’ Home in Holyoke. Nor do we want people to avoid seeking necessary healthcare for fear of catching Covid in an unmasked setting.
Despite the disinformation about masks and the recent misinterpretations of the Cochrane study, masks are most effective when they are high quality (e.g., N95, KN95) and properly fitted. Moreover, universal masking is more effective than one-way masking.
Asking everyone to wear effective masks in healthcare settings to protect others, especially those at higher risk due to age and/or health vulnerabilities, is the ethical and effective public health approach.
Please contact your State Rep and Senator as well as Gov. Healey and DPH and ask them to continue mask mandates in healthcare settings. For more information, see Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity: https://medium.com/@MassCHE/as-healthcare-workers-parents-and-caregivers-and-patients-we-urge-the-massachusetts-department-ea06c8bc2938
Resources:
https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20220928/cdc-masking-no-longer-required-in-health-care-settings CDC ending masks mandates healthcare settings
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/states-mask-mandates-coronavirus.html state mask mandates; article 3/13/23 – not up to date, does not mention change tk in MA
https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/no-that-new-study-doesnt-show-that-masks-are-useless
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/opinion/masks-work-cochrane-study.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/90790893/im-a-chronically-ill-student-and-one-way-masking-isnt-enough
https://www.cmaj.ca/content/194/19/E682
The opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect opinions or positions held by Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western MA.