Not just the ‘chronically ill’ who lose when hospitals drop mask mandates

I read with great interest the recent article, “Immunocompromised, chronically ill people object to Baltimore hospitals’ decisions to drop masking” (May 17). Using “immunocompromised” and “chronically ill” in the headline makes it seem like only a small portion of the population should be concerned. In reality, we should all be concerned with hospitals’ failure to protect their patients and staff for at least three reasons.

First, the list of preexisting conditions that increase the chances of severe COVID is extensive including asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, obesity, pregnancy, heart disease, depression, smoking and physical inactivity (www.cdc. gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care/underlyingconditions.html). My guess is that anyone who reads that list either has one (or more) of them, or has a loved one with one of them.

Second, we are facing a chronic and critical staffing shortage among medical professionals. They, like many of us, have gone above and beyond over the past few years and are burned out (or now chronically ill or dead). We should want to protect them at all costs to ensure that the health care system remains strong.

Third, people often go to the hospital because they are in a critical medical situation. Just as medical personnel wear gloves to prevent against the transmission of blood-borne disease, shouldn’t we expect them (and the patients) to protect one another from airborne diseases?

It is such a ridiculously small request to wear a mask in a medical situation, and it would help to make Maryland a state that leaves no one behind.

— Ben Begleiter, Towson