Happy April everyone!
It is hard to believe that 3 years ago, in March of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic changed our way of living dramatically. Looking back, those early days of the pandemic were very chaotic and scary as there were so many questions but no clear answers. With every new stage of the pandemic, we relied on those who used their prior years of research to whittle down the massive, tangled data to guide us with evidence-based, data-driven guidelines to keep as many people safe as possible. There have been many controversies, disagreements, and passionate debates on what the “right” thing to do was as we faced one of the greatest public health crisis challenges of our lifetime. Throughout those very challenging 3 years, I hope you, our patients and our families, know how much we appreciated your kind words and encouragement. Regardless of your personal feelings, thank you for complying with the office policies we implemented to try to do our best to keep everyone safe (your children, other children and my staff and their families), all the while delivering excellence in medical care to your child(ren). As the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic is finally waning, CA Dept of Public Health has recently updated their recommendations and guidelines (www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR23-014.aspx). Effective 4/3/2023, mask mandates will be lifted in healthcare settings. Although we will still encourage anyone who wishes to mask to continue to do so, we will no longer mandate masking in our office. We will continue to offer sick visits outside of the office (in our courtyard) when appropriate. We will continue to be creative and vigilant in our office to try to mitigate infection control in our office. Thank you for putting your trust in us to care for your child(ren), and thank you for helping us follow guidelines to keep those most vulnerable safe in our office!
With Sincere Gratitude,
Anna Lee, MD, Siyi Yung, MD and David Austin, MD
