Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced updates to its mask guidance for fully vaccinated individuals last week, saying people who have been inoculated against COVID-19 can stop wearing face coverings outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
The move garnered confusion and backlash, and CDC director Rochelle Walenksy appeared on multiple news programs over the weekend to clarify the agency’s stance and explain the intent of the change.
“There is no mandate to take it off,” the former chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital told FOX News Sunday. “What we’re saying is, now this is safe,” she said. “Work at your own speed, work with your own family and your own businesses to remove them when necessary.”
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, appeared Monday on Good Morning America to discuss the debate over the agency’s new rules. He said he agrees with two messages from the CDC — that more people are being encouraged to get vaccinated and that once you are fully vaccinated, you’re “safe.”
Jha said last week that states should wait a few more weeks before lifting mask mandates, which he reiterated again on Monday.
“The problem is how it’s being implemented — that states that are lifting mask mandates are doing so for vaccinated and unvaccinated people,” he said. “That’s why I think the lifting of the mask mandate right now is unwise. We should wait a little longer until more Americans can get vaccinated.”
Dr. @ashishkjha weighs in on COVID mask confusion and what to expect from new guidance in schools. https://t.co/LKBmEJ5uGr pic.twitter.com/Zgzl43ZlgK
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 17, 2021
On his own, Jha said he plans to keep wearing a mask in indoor public spaces like grocery stores. He said he is doing so because there are still a lot of unvaccinated people, who when unmasked “pose a little bit of a threat” to a vaccinated individual.
The risk of a vaccinated individual getting infected at a grocery store crowded with unvaccinated people is “tiny,” the doctor said, but so is the cost of wearing a mask.
His main reason for staying masked at the grocery store is because many people in Massachusetts (about 62 percent of the state’s population, according to the New York Times) have only received one dose of the vaccine.
“I think we should wear masks for them,” Jha said. “So therefore, I’m really doing it as a way to encourage other people to wear masks. Just for a little bit longer, another three to four weeks until more people are vaccinated.”
Masking up creates a norm for society, Jha wrote on Twitter.
“That norm says that while folks are still getting vaccinated, infection numbers are high, let’s protect each other in higher risk situations,” he said. “Do I have to? Nope. I’m safe, so what do I care? But I do care about creating an expectation that we protect vulnerable people. We get to choose what kind of community we create. You can think narrowly about your personal interest. Or you can think about your community norms.”
A lot of folks wondering since I'm fully vaccinated, why would I wear a mask at a grocery store?
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) May 16, 2021
Every action we take is a weighing of costs and benefits
So lets talk about fully-vaccinated me in a grocery store
Am I a risk to others? No
Am I at risk? Not much
Thread https://t.co/6TnoxQsPpa
There are lots of folks who want to be but are not yet fully vaccinated
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) May 16, 2021
My wife for instance
She got her first shot right after she became eligible
She's close but not fully vaccinated. There are lots of folks like her
And by masking up, I help create a norm in society
3/4
We get to choose what kind of community we create
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) May 16, 2021
You can think narrowly about your personal interest
Or you can think about your community norms
If my masking up for now creates a norm where others mask up and we protect those still getting vaccinated?
That feels easy
End
What’s your take? Respond to the Boston.com poll below, or email [email protected] with your reaction and we’ll include your responses in a future article.
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Stay up to date with everything Boston. Receive the latest news and breaking updates, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com