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 Massachusetts 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 health care 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’s Home in Holyoke. Nor do we want people to avoid seeking necessary health care 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 health care 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 representative and senator as well as Gov. Healey and Department of Public Health and ask them to continue mask mandates in healthcare settings. For more information online, visit Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity at medium.com/@MassCHE/as-healthcare-workers-parents-and-caregivers-and-patients-we-urge-the-massachusetts-department-ea06c8bc2938.

Rebecca Leopold

Northampton

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