To Mask Or Not To Mask

By Alison Sturm MD, The Bristol Press

March 1, 2022

As we begin the month of March, spring finally seems within our grasp. After another long, hard, and lonelier-than-expected winter, warm weather can’t come soon enough!

With the worst of the omicron surge behind us, we now have new, more flexible masking guidelines from the CDC to consider and apply to our daily lives. The CDC has indicated that those living in low risk communities can opt to mask according to “personal preference, informed by one’s personal level of risk”. Of note, “community risk level” is now determined by the CDC using 3 parameters- the number of cases per 100,000 people in the previous week, the number of COVID-19 related hospital admissions per 100,000 residents in the previous week, and the percent of area hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients over the previous week (7 day average). The CDC website now has an online tool where one can easily see a community’s assigned risk level by county:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronaviru...

It’s hard to imagine anyone not looking forward to the possibility of a reasonably safe mask free period for many of us. Nonetheless, for those of us in the medical field as well as those in the general public who have been diligently wearing masks for nearly 2 years now, it may be a bit of a tough transition psychologically.

As a pediatrician, I have personally been very cautious throughout this pandemic. I do feel that there may be some crowded indoor settings in which I will continue to mask. Certainly in healthcare settings, mask wearing will continue for now. However, we are now 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Connecticut residents fully vaccinated (and an increasing number also boosted). Many Connecticut residents have now had COVID-19 disease. It does seem to be an appropriate time for many of us to cautiously unmask, while also acknowledging that there may be a time down the road where a return to universal masking may be necessary. If/when that time arrives, people will likely be more willing to comply with a return to masking if they have been able to enjoy a break in the meantime.

For those who remain unvaccinated (or whose vaccine-eligible children remain unvaccinated), I would highly encourage you to move forward with getting vaccinated so that your risk of serious COVID-19 illness is reduced, as the general public will be increasingly unmasked for the near future.

As a pediatrician and a parent, I know that decisions about voluntary mask wearing will be weighing heavily on the minds of many parents of children under 5 years of age (who are still unable to be vaccinated). Although it will be more difficult to convince young children to continue to wear masks without a universal mandate, some parents may still choose to try to do so for their unvaccinated children. Certainly household risk considerations should also play a role in making these decisions. Although young children under 5 years old are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 because they are unvaccinated, this age group generally handles the disease well and does not tend to get seriously ill (of course, there are always exceptions). Ultimately, the decision on optional mask wearing in low risk communities comes down to one’s risk tolerance and personal preference.

If you do choose to continue to wear a mask, you may want to consider using a high quality, well fitting surgical mask, N95 mask, KN95 mask, or KF94 mask, as these will offer more protection in a setting where others around you may NOT be wearing masks. Certainly it is of the utmost importance that respect is given to those who do opt to continue to wear masks in public. I sincerely hope that most of us will be able to enjoy some mask-free time in the coming months in a relatively safe way- especially our children!

Alison Sturm, MD, is a pediatrician for the Bristol Health Medical Group. Her office is located at 25 Newell Road, Bristol. She is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, call 833.4BHDOCS.