If the Legislature passes a law to allow municipal mask mandates during a special session next week, town and city officials will find themselves at the center of a policy debate that’s escalated for months. Gov. Phil Scott has repeatedly said he doesn’t believe a statewide mask mandate would be effective — and that instituting one now would be an abuse of his authority. Democratic leaders have argued that a data-driven masking policy could help tamp down a surge that’s strained the state’s schools and hospitals for months.

While Scott has said he’s skeptical that detractors would comply with new mandates at this stage of the pandemic, some public health experts argue that there’s ample data to prove that mandates boost compliance — and that that in turn suppresses infection.

Guest: Julia Raifman (Boston University School of Public Health)