Mass. experts urge mask use to slow COVID-19 surge, prevent hospital overcrowding

Vaccines continue to be the “best defense” against COVID-19, but with the omicron variant threatening to drive cases, if not necessarily severe disease, to new heights, hospital and medical experts said Thursday that additional steps like mask-wearing may be necessary this winter to control spread and prevent hospital overcrowding.

“We’re at the point where we have to ask people to do more, again, because of the surge,” said Rep. William Driscoll, the co-chair of the Legislature’s Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management.

The collision of the holidays, cold weather and the new COVID-19 variant are raising fears about the ability of hospitals to meet the surging needs of patients, as well as questions about the efficacy of vaccines against the new strain of the virus spreading across the globe.

The Legislature convened an oversight hearing Thursday to probe the state of play with the coronavirus pandemic in Massachusetts and measures that could be taken to control the latest surge. The Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 5,133 new cases, and 1,411 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 — levels not seen since last January and February.

Dr. Dan Barouch, director of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Center for Virology & Vaccine Research, said there’s “no question” that Massachusetts will see an increase in breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated if omicron becomes the dominant strain, but he said he “remains optimistic” that vaccines will continue to be highly effective in preventing severe disease.

Both Barouch and Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, founding director of Boston University’s Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research, said that while vaccines remain the best tool to fight the pandemic, masks and social distancing should be used to add a layer of protection.