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Masks Are Optional. But Not For the Medically Vulnerable.

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A woman with tattoos and dark glasses sits at a table in a garden.
Sassy Outwater-Wright sits at a picnic table in her backyard in Berkeley on Jan. 20, 2022. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

A federal judge in Florida ruled on Monday that the federal mask mandate was unlawful. Hours later, the Transportation Security Administration lifted mask rules inside airports, airplanes and on public transportation.

Transportation agencies around the Bay soon followed suit, raising concerns among disability rights and medically vulnerable communities. 

In light of the recent changes to public mask mandates, we revisit an episode we aired in January. Two years into the pandemic, as restrictions loosened disabled, immunocompromised, and medically vulnerable people feared that their health would be further jeopardized.

Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED health reporter


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This episode first aired January 26, 2022

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