Murthy: Wearing a Mask if You Have Unvaccinated Kids and Live in High Infection Area Is ‘Right Thing to Do’ Even if You’re Vaccinated

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated that, even if you’re vaccinated, if you live in an area with high infection numbers and have children too young to be vaccinated, “wearing a mask, especially in indoor settings when you go out, is the right thing to do” even though the risk of transmission is small. And that localities with rising cases “should strongly consider” reinstituting masks.

Murthy said, “I know that, if you’re fully vaccinated, like you and I are, our risk of both getting sick and transmitting it to our children is low. But if you are in an area where there’s a lot of infection or if you’re worried about that risk of transmission, then wearing a mask, especially in indoor settings when you go out, is the right thing to do. That’s what I do. Because again, I want to take every possible measure to protect my child, even though the risk is low, given that I live in an area where there’s a lot of virus being transmitted, I want to be extra cautious. And so, that’s what I do, and that’s what all parents can do, is take that extra step.”

Murthy also said that children who can’t get vaccinated depend on others to get vaccinated to protect them.

He later added, “So, if you’re out there and you’ve got kids at home or you’re immunocompromised and you’re thinking, should I be more cautious and put my mask on when I’m going to indoor spaces, I would strongly consider that. If you’re a locality that’s seeing cases rise around you and you’re thinking, should I put additional mitigation measures in place like masking, I would say yes, you should strongly consider that. Because this is not the time to let down our guard.”

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