Viewer questions on masks, vaccines answered on ABC-7 Xtra Sunday edition featuring disease expert, health authority

El PASO, Texas -- There is a great deal of progress we are all making on the Covid-19 front worthy of celebrating.

This past week, the FDA and CDC approved the use of Pfizer vaccines for children 12 to 16 year olds. It was an announcement that will have a huge impact on school attendance, summer school and summer camps for El Paso’s youth.

Then, the CDC announced it is safe for fully vaccinated people to drop the mask use both indoor and outdoors, again, only if the person is fully vaccinated. CDC officials say this is due largely because a big part of the population is fully vaccinated.

Here in El Paso, the percentage of people fully vaccinated people has reached 50 percent. That's due to the fact that El Pasoans lead the way in getting vaccinated, more so than other Texas communities. And that's not just with the Covid-19 vaccine, but flu shots as well.

But unlike other communities, El Paso is unique because we are a border city sharing our border with Juarez, a Mexican city with a low percentage of fully vaccinated people.

Sunday on ABC-7 Xtra at 10:35 p.m., host Saul Saenz will ask well known epidemiologist Dr. Ogechika Alozie if dropping the mask use in the Borderland is safe given our unique geographical and socio-economic situation.

Saul will ask his second guest, El Paso City/County Health Authority and pediatrician Dr. Hector Ocaranza, if it is safe for children to also drop the mask and head back to the classroom, or summer camp,  if they are fully vaccinated.

In addition, we asked ABC-7 viewers to chime in and ask the two doctors questions they have.

Do you feel safe ditching the mask if you are fully vaccinated? Do you feel it is safe for your child to get vaccinated? What concerns do you have about children getting the vaccine?

Those viewer questions will be shared with the two ABC-7 Xtra guests for their answers.