Prominent WA health official announces retirement days after having to walk back statement that masks don’t stop COVID

Duchin had been the face of the most populous county in Washington’s public health during the pandemic and supported the onerous restrictions put in place by local officials.

On March 10, Duchin engaged in a back-and-forth with an X user who claimed that his wife could not obtain medical care during the restrictions because she had pre-existing health conditions that prevented her from wearing a mask.

After Duchin stated that there were exceptions to the mask mandate, the user claimed they were not honored, to which the King County Health Officer replied, “I’m sorry that happened to her & hope it’s not happening now. If it is, consider one of those floppy blue surgical masks. They’re not snug and air flows right around the sides, so no increase in work of breathing. Of course, no protection from CoV-19, but should do the trick.”

Duchin was one of the biggest champions of masks and mask mandates during the pandemic.

Angry Washingtonians slammed the man who helped mandate that they wear masks for almost 2 years.

The blowback was so severe that Duchin told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI in a statement, “I made this comment on X in response to a man who said his wife had a medical reason for not being able to wear a mask and was being denied needed medical care for that reason (King County’s mask directive includes an exception for people with medical reasons for not being able to wear a mask). I suggested that in order to get the needed medical care she was being denied for not wearing a mask, she could consider wearing a floppy blue surgical mask intentionally fitting loosely so that air easily passed around the sides, allowing her to breathe easily.”

“It’s important to understand that wearing a loose-fitting mask where air easily passes around the sides would not be expected to provide meaningful protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. This is why we recommend snug-fitting masks, and preferably high-quality varieties like N95 and KN95, for COVID-19 protection.”

“Wearing a well-fitting, high-quality face mask in indoor public settings is an important part of a layered approach (along with staying up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines, improving indoor air ventilation, and staying home when sick) to preventing the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as preventing the spread of other respiratory viruses, such as flu and RSV.”

The backlash only intensified and Duchin took to X to post a thread that stated in part, “I made a poorly worded & misleading tweet yesterday in response to a man who said his wife had a medical reason for not being able to wear a mask and was being denied needed medical care for that reason. It’s generating confusion. My bad.”

Days later, Duchin’s retirement was announced and will begin July 1. In 1994, he joined Seattle & King County Public Health and in 1998 was named Chief of the department’s Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section. He became the Health Officer for King County Public Health in 2015.

King County Executive Dow Constantine, one of the local officials who enforced the restrictive mandates, said in a statement regarding Duchin's retirement, “His expertise and leadership during the first Covid outbreak in the nation, in King County, drew praise from around the country. Under his guidance, King County’s sustained response to the pandemic has led the nation, holding illness and death rates to among the lowest in major counties, while focusing on equity as a guiding principle in our work. I’m grateful for his wise counsel and for his long record of accomplishment on our behalf.”