Post #4594377 · Elektrine

2026-09-01 05:49 UTC

I recently had my first doctor refuse to wear a mask for me. They confidently told me “new science shows you only have to wear one when you’re sick”. I reminded them that asymptomatic transmission is real and that I’m immunocompromised & have been hospitalized for a cold… They still refused. I’ve only had one other healthcare worker refuse and it was a tech so I was able to request a different person perform my test (I have masks required as an accommodation in my medical chart). Sadly I can’t just request a different doctor. Interestingly this was one of the only appointments I’ve had where I haven’t brought a man with me. Male friends usually accompany me and just sit in the room wearing a mask and it tends to increase compliance. Once again misogyny in medicine rears its ugly head. I was fortunate to be wearing a fitted N99 and have a laminar flow air purifier, so I was as protected as possible. This is a privilege not afforded to everyone. But I also have no natural defences. I shouldn’t be expected to risk my health to get healthcare. There was no logical reason the doctor couldn’t put on a mask. They had them in the clinic. I had extra N95s in my bag. They just didn’t want to. They found the idea that they might infect me to be offensive. I am begging healthcare workers to stop doing this. You should be masking by default. With everything we know about how COVID is transmitted it’s ridiculous we don’t have mandatory masking in healthcare. At the bare minimum, you should mask mirror. You shouldn’t put the onus on the patient to beg for you to do the right thing. You shouldn’t be spreading misinformation about how masks are only needed if you’re sick. You shouldn’t be risking your patients health. The imbalance of power is real and needs to be respected. I had no options in the moment. It was care I urgently needed and I couldn’t simply walk out. I was confident enough to push the issue a little, but not past the point where it might compromise my care. I had to do a quick risk analysis and decide to take my chances. No patient should have to do that. We need masks and clean air in healthcare. We need doctors to show us they understand the science of airborne transmission. No one should ever have to choose between care and covid. #covid #COVIDisAirborne #sarscov2 #disability #ableism #healthcare

Replies (17)

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca 2026-09-01 09:53

I wrote this article nearly two years ago but it’s just as relevant today. I wish every healthcare worker would read it and realize patients deserve protection. They deserve to be safe in the place they go to get care. They deserve to feel valued and like their doctor understands the science. They deserve masks in healthcare: https://www.disabledginger.com/p/a-plea-to-maskless-healthcare-workers

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@lyrial@transfem.social 2026-09-01 06:40

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca This post is extremely prescient. Do you mind if I post this to !womensstuff@piefed.blahaj.zone?

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@epistatacadam@toot.wales 2026-09-01 06:42

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca regrettably the widespread myth that masks work primarily by protecting the wearer is believed by many in health care. Surgeons wear masks to protect the patient from their bugs, when the primary defemce layer, the skin, is breached. Interstingly, its the proponents of germ theory who believe most passionately that airborne transmission can't exist, except for measles, pneumonic plague, Sars, Norovirus, Rsv, TB......

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@jschwart@mas.to 2026-09-01 06:52

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca it reminds me of the biology/history lessons with doctors refusing to wash their hands.

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@raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie 2026-09-01 07:32

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca Not just Covid. Many things and how does the doctor know if they are "clean"? They do always wear them in a operating theatre and it's to protect the patient, not avoid catching stuff!

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@SusiArnott@mastodon.green 2026-09-01 07:33

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca Where did this happen? Grim and appalling - where are your medics educated, who funds them and do they have more of an interest in sickness than health? Wish I could send more than good wishes

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@Beurkeek@peoplemaking.games 2026-09-01 08:07

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca So sorry you had to go through this, the doctor's behaviour was inexcusable. I recently had a very uncomfortable encounter with a healthcare provider who not only refused to wear a mask, but called me "mentally ill" and strongly suggested psychotic drugs as a treatment for this supposed illness. They also openly compared COVID caution with believing in UFOs. When I left the room, I started crying.

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@zeitverschreib@freundica.de 2026-09-01 08:25

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca So sad. Some "professionals" should take a few courses in bedside manner. My piercer wears a mask everytime he changes the jewelry in my healed (!) lobes.

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@Kerplunk@mastodon.scot 2026-09-01 08:30

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca I recently had my first doctor refuse to wear a mask for me. They confidently told me “new science shows you only have to wear one when you’re sick”. That is an idiot like Kennedy not a qualified thinking and responsible doctor... The kind that should be cleaning floors in pig pens instead of endangering patients.

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@mo@mastodon.ml 2026-09-01 08:31

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca maybe you can report them somewhere? They're clearly incompetent as a doctor

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@LaChasseuse@mastodon.scot 2026-09-01 09:09

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca I had this problem with an optician who proudly told me she'd had Covid three times.

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@hawyer@ohai.social 2026-09-01 09:21

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca fuckin hell

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@kithrup@wandering.shop 2026-09-01 11:31

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca A couple of months ago, I had a problem with my eye, went to see some specialists. Only *one* of the 4 doctors I saw during that time noticed I was wearing a mask, and asked if I'd like him to do so as well. When I said yes, he also told the nurse to put one on. (This is in Ireland.)

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@Azulrin@c.im 2026-09-01 11:33

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca this is the concentrated power of the United States president, he appoints people to be directors of the departments of health, CDC, hhs. USA also is hugely influential globally. 💀

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@DavidM_yeg@beige.party 2026-09-01 14:56

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca Not masking in healthcare settings is *profoundly* irrational.

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@garland@social.seattle.wa.us 2026-09-01 17:10

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca I’m sorry you had this experience. It’s inexcusable. Healthcare organizations generally have mask policies, and most policies I’ve seen require providers to wear a mask if a patient requests it. It is quite possible that this doctor was violating their facility’s policy. If you have the time and energy, I hope you will report this through whatever mechanism they have for collecting patient feedback. The places I’ve worked take that feedback seriously.

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@epicdemiologist@wandering.shop 2026-09-02 00:36

@broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca Jesus Christ. When will we get past "Doctors are gentlemen, and gentlemen have clean hands"???

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