Eye on WNY: Understanding Changes to Masking Guidelines

COVID-19 guidelines continue to change, and masking is no exception. What are the latest guidelines in New York State and Erie County? And what do infectious diseases experts think?

Here are the latest updates:

• CDC guidelines: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is using “community levels” to help communities and individuals make decisions based on their local context. According to CDC measurement, as of March 8, 2022, Erie County is in the “low” category, meaning that most residents are safe going without a mask in indoor settings. (See more on recommended prevention levels for each category here.)
• Masking in Erie County: Based on CDC guidelines, masking is no longer required in public or county-owned buildings in Erie County. This does not include state-imposed mask mandates for healthcare, which remain in effect. The CDC notes that “[a]t all levels, people can wear a mask based on personal preference, informed by personal level of risk. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.”
• Masking in schools: Based on updated guidance from the New York State Department of Health, students and school staff in Erie County are no longer required to wear masks in school settings. In addition, the University at Buffalo lifted its mask mandate on March 5, yet mask mandates still exist on UB buses and shuttles, School of Dental Medicine facilities, and in clinical health care settings, including on-campus testing sites.

Expert guidance

Thomas A. Russo, MD, Professor and Chief, Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, outlined when to wear a mask in a recent Yahoo News feature.

“If you’re unvaccinated, if you’re 50 and older, you’re pregnant, or you have significant underlying disease, it would be prudent to mask up,” Russo says. And in an interview with WKBW, Russo adds that if parents “feel uncomfortable with their children going to school unmasked, it's okay for children to wear a mask. Just because the mandate has been lifted doesn't mean the children cannot wear a mask."

Above all else, experts stress the importance of vaccination and boosters.

“[T]here is no question a booster will benefit the individual,” Russo told UBNow in February. “Equally important, it will help break the transmission chain and decrease the likelihood that you can transmit to others. So, not only does the booster shot afford you a personal benefit, it benefits the UB community and the Western New York community at large. It’s not just about you.”