New CDC Guidelines on Face Coverings: Murphy Gives Insight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surprised most people last week when the agency announced that those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear masks indoors or outdoors in most situations to protect against the virus. If you have children at home but you’re fully vaccinated, you should also be OK to go into a store without a mask, says Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and senior associate dean for clinical and translational research. “Children don't seem to acquire COVID-19 as easily and don't transmit it as easily,” he says. “When they do, the illness tends to be mild, although you don't want to expose your child to the virus.”