Dr. Anthony Fauci may have resigned as President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, but he’s still calling on Americans to wear masks this winter if coronavirus cases spike.
Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — who retired after december Half a century of public service—Interviewed by CNN weekend about the coronavirus pandemic.
He suggested that if cases spike in the coming fall and winter, people should consider using masks again, especially if health officials recommend them as a way to curb the spread of the virus.
“I’m concerned that people won’t follow the (cover-up) recommendations,” Fauci said. “We’re not talking about coercion or coercion on anyone, but when the number of cases in society reaches a fairly high level, the vulnerable, the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions will be more vulnerable, and if they do get infected, they will Severely ill and hospitalized. We know that. It’s a fact.”
His interview with CNN came as a new COVID-19 strain, BA.2.86, known as the “Pyrola” variant, was spreading across the United States.
With highly mutated strains draw the doctor’s attention As the northern hemisphere enters peak season for respiratory viruses, the debate over whether face masks are necessary has reignited.
Fauci emphasized in Saturday’s interview that the mask mandate will not return, but he did remind CNN viewers that health officials still recommend wearing masks to reduce personal risk.
“I hope that if in fact we’ve gotten to the point where the number of cases is so high, and organizations like the CDC recommend (the CDC doesn’t mandate anything) that people wear masks, I hope (people) follow that advice, and Consider the risk to yourself and your family.”
Earlier this year, huge scientific analysis The study involving hundreds of thousands of people concluded that “compared with not wearing a mask, wearing a mask in the community may have little or no effect on the outcome of a disease like COVID-19.”
Although the team said in their paper that they still have “limited confidence” in the estimated effects of wearing masks, Oxford University epidemiologist Tom Jefferson, who led the Cochrane review, said: Tell reporter Maryanne Demasi “There is no evidence that face masks are effective during a pandemic.”
“There’s no difference — there’s no difference,” he said. “There’s no evidence (masks) do anything, period.”
When asked about the results of the Cochran study on Saturday, Fauci, who represents the U.S. response to the outbreak, said other studies supported the case for masks.
“The data to support cover-up is less strong when you’re talking about the overall impact of an epidemic or a pandemic, but it’s less strong when you’re talking about the individual basis on which someone is protecting themselves or protecting themselves from transmission. For For others, there is no doubt that there are many studies showing an advantage,” he said.
Several studies were conducted at the height of the pandemic, including by experts from: Stanford University School of Medicine and Yale Universitythis University of Edinburgh and Jinan University, China— found that covering up does indeed slow the spread of the virus.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Layered” prevention strategy Can help prevent serious illness from COVID-19. Officials said that means the best approach is to take a variety of preventive measures, such as timely vaccination and wearing appropriate masks, to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
Variant pyrrole
Last month, the World Health Organization said it was monitoring the spread of BA.2.86 because of the dramatic differences between the variant and its predecessor, and the CDC followed suit own announcement on the same day.
The World Health Organization has designated #Coronavirus disease Variant BA.2.86 is now considered a “surveilled variant” due to the large number of mutations it carries.
Only a few countries have reported few sequences of this variant so far.
🔗 https://t.co/3tJkDZdY1V— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 17, 2023
In its initial risk assessment For the Pirola variant, the CDC said existing tests and drugs appear to remain effective in detecting and treating the new strain.
While the group says BA.2.86 may be more capable of causing breakthrough infections in those who have been vaccinated or previously infected with the new coronavirus, there is no evidence that the variant causes more severe disease.
“This variant is notable because it has multiple genetic differences compared with previous SARS-CoV-2 versions and because it was detected in multiple locations over a short period of time,” CDC officials said in their 2019 report. renew August 30th.
However, a Updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccineThe product, which will be available to Americans in mid-September, is expected to be effective in reducing severe illness and hospitalizations in people infected with the new strain, the CDC said.
“At this time, we don’t know how well this variant spreads, but we do know that it spreads in the same way as other variants,” the officials added. “If you choose to wear a mask, wear a good quality mask that covers your nose and mouth well.”
according to CDC latest datathe Omicron EG.5 subvariant is currently the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States, accounting for about one-fifth of the virus’ cases.
Scott Roberts is an infectious disease specialist at Yale University School of Medicine, said in an article Last week, while it was too early to determine whether Pirola would spread more easily than other variants, or whether it would persist, there may be cause for concern: the number of mutations found in Pirola was similar to that found between Delta and Its more communicative successor, the Omicron.
“When the Omicron hits in the winter of 2021, there will be a huge increase in COVID-19 cases because it is very different from the Delta variant and it evades immunity from natural infection and vaccination,” he said. “Another concern is that this The virus has emerged in at least six countries and the cases are not related. This suggests some level of community transmission (internationally), but we have not detected it yet.”
Veronika Matutyte, a doctor at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, told us wealth Masks are beneficial on Monday and are especially important in poorly ventilated areas, healthcare facilities or when community transmission is high.
“As more contagious variants exist, masks provide the necessary adaptation,” she said. “Recent studies have shown that even against more transmissible variants, well-fitting multi-layer masks can still provide good protection.”
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