Health department chief warns! This mask does not fully protect against Omikron!
That mask can’t fully protect you from Omikron, says former US health chief! The virus expert warns that not all types of face coverings work well against the variant – now you need to know!
Watch out! These masks don’t offer enough protection
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The emergence of the Omikron variant has once again put health officials on high alert. Some precautions have already been renewed to address the possibility that the viral offshoot could be more contagious than the currently prevalent Delta variant. These include extending a nationwide mask requirement for travelers on planes, trains and buses until at least March 18. Officials are also urging the public to get booster shots or ensure they are fully vaccinated as soon as possible, and encouraging people to wear masks at indoor gatherings if they don’t know the vaccination status of others present. However, according to Scott Gottlieb, MD, former commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), certain types of masks may not protect as well against the Omicron variant as others.
At the very least, wear medical masks!
During an appearance on the CBS program Face the Nation on December 5, Gottlieb was asked if a recent anime convention in New York City, which may have become one of the first superspreader events for Omicron in the U.S., was evidence that Omicron could spread more easily. He explained that anecdotal evidence was difficult to use in this case, especially since only one dose of the vaccine was required to attend the event. But he also said another protective measure may have played a factor.
“We don’t know what the quality of the masks were that people were wearing,” he said. “We have to assume that most of them were wearing cloth masks, which don’t provide a very high level of protection against something that is airborne.
Gottlieb again cautioned that it’s important not to draw too many conclusions too soon from events like Congress. However, he pointed out that other recent events also raise concerns that the virus could be more transmissible than the Delta virus.
One person infects many!
“It’s worrying when a single introduction into a human gathering leads to 30 or more infections, as we saw in Oslo,” he said, referring to a recent Christmas party in the Norwegian capital that is believed to have been the largest Omicron super-spread event outside South Africa. “This points to something that is clearly airborne and looks more like measles than flu,” he said.
Gottlieb isn’t the only one expressing concern about the importance of wearing the right kind of face shield while the variant is circulating. On the same show, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, was asked by host Margaret Brennan if the public should upgrade their masks as Omicron begins to spread.
“Well, what we saw during the COVID pandemic is that better quality masks provide better protection,” Murthy explained. “If you wear a cloth mask properly, you can get good protection. If you upgrade to a KN95 or an N95 in certain circumstances, you can get even more protection.”
Even though it is a new variant, the appearance of Omicron in the U.S. has led top officials to once again urge the public to protect themselves with the tried and true preventative measures. These include not only vaccination and booster shots, but also familiar tactics that have been used since the early days of the pandemic.