This week, Dr. Stephen Ostroff said he is comfortable unmasked, indoors, circulating among 2,608 other (mostly) unmasked people.
This is not what one expects to hear from a 20-plus-year veteran of the CDC who specialized in emerging infectious diseases and who also served as the chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration (stepping in as acting director twice).
But there is a very special circumstance that makes the doctor feel comfortable without a mask, indoors, among thousands of people: Every single one of them is certified to have been vaccinated and has had a negative Covid test before joining him inside.
"Inside" is within the confines of the Encore, the first Norwegian Cruise Line ship to sail from a U.S. port since the pandemic was declared.
A self-described "vaccination zealot," Ostroff served on the Healthy Sail Panel of experts put together by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Group that came up with 74 recommendations to minimize onboard health risks.
Read original article