The winter season is officially here and with cases of cold and flu, RSV and coronavirus of top concern, is it time to mask up again?
Boston Public Schools recently recommended eight days of masking following winter break, but it is not a mandate.
Local doctors on Greater Boston said the peak of RSV and flu season seems to have passed, but there could be a second peak. They weighed in on the recent BPS mask recommendation.
Dr. Shira Doron, infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, said, "It doesn't make a lot of sense to focus mask recommendations on schools and children when we aren't having those conversations more broadly about adults and all of the other venues within our state that are wide open and normal."
She noted that compared to this time last year, we are in much better shape when it comes to COVID cases.
Dr. Davidson Hamer, interim director of the Boston University Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, agreed that mask recommendations should be more widely implemented to have the best impact — masking up can also prevent lost time in school or work.
"There are benefits to mask use that go beyond simply preventing disease," Hamer said.
Watch: When is it time to mask up again? Boston doctors weigh in
