During the upcoming holiday season, the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity is advocating for hospitals and healthcare providers to reintroduce universal mask mandates in order to protect against COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. The coalition, which was established during the pandemic with the aim of protecting individuals who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, hosted a virtual press conference on Monday to urge health systems to reconsider their masking policies. Many hospitals had lifted their mask mandates after the public health emergency ended in May.

The Boston Business Journal has more on this story.