{"id":6458,"date":"2021-05-19T22:12:25","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T22:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s37407.p1377.sites.pressdns.com\/resources\/double-mask-new-covid-strains\/"},"modified":"2021-05-19T22:12:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T22:12:25","slug":"double-mask-new-covid-strains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/double-mask-new-covid-strains\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to double mask against new COVID-19 strains, experts warn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">By now, most Americans are used to wearing a face mask whenever they step out, but new warnings from health experts suggest one mask may not be enough. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a physician and the current director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is telling Americans to consider&nbsp;double masking to fight the spread of new, more contagious strains of COVID-19.<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">&ldquo;If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,&rdquo; Fauci explained during a January 25 interview on NBC News Today. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p><div class=\"kinsights-embed\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TODAYshow\/status\/1353680227495510018?s=20\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&ldquo;It just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective.&rdquo; -Dr. Anthony Fauci on wearing two masks to protect against COVID-19 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ii7uTOc57A\">pic.twitter.com\/Ii7uTOc57A<\/a><\/p><p>&mdash; TODAY (@TODAYshow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TODAYshow\/status\/1353680227495510018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p><\/div><p>Fauci isn&rsquo;t the only expert calling for double masks. Tom Frieden, the former director of the CDC during the Obama administration, also says upgrading to a better quality mask may be an important step in protecting yourself from emerging forms of the virus.<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\">&ldquo;Consider upgrading from a cloth mask to a surgical mask, or from a surgical mask to an N95\/KN95\/equivalent if available,&rdquo; he writes on Twitter. &ldquo;Better masks may help reduce risk from more-contagious strains.&rdquo;<\/p><div class=\"kinsights-embed\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrTomFrieden\/status\/1353777137698955265?s=20\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Consider upgrading from a cloth mask to a surgical mask, or from a surgical mask to an N95\/KN95\/equivalent if available. Better masks may help reduce risk from more-contagious strains.<\/p><p>&mdash; Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrTomFrieden\/status\/1353777137698955265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p><\/div><p>So far, the CDC has not updated guidelines to reflect the two-mask call from experts. Current guidelines still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/prevent-getting-sick\/about-face-coverings.html\">recommend<\/a> wearing masks that have two or more layers of breathable, washable fabric. A CDC report published in November 2020 shows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/more\/masking-science-sars-cov2.html\">cloth masks<\/a> with multiple layers can potentially block 50-70% of fine droplets that carry the virus; however, it&rsquo;s unclear whether or not those masks will still be as effective against different forms of COVID-19.<\/p><p>Unfortunately, there are now several new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/transmission\/variant.html\">strains<\/a> of coronavirus circulating around the globe. In the US, experts are most concerned about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2021\/health\/coronavirus-mutations-B117-variant.html\">B.1.1.7<\/a> variant, which originated in the UK and has now been detected in at least 14 states. B.1.1.7 is estimated to be a minimum of 50% more contagious than previous strains, and experts fear the higher rate of spread could result in a sharp increase in infections, hospitalizations and deaths. The calls for two masks are an attempt to get ahead of the spread.<\/p><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cell.com\/med\/pdf\/S2666-6340(20)30072-6.pdf\">commentary on masks<\/a> published January 15 and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health says wearing a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask could offer &ldquo;maximal protection.&rdquo; In this setup, the surgical mask acts as a filter while the cloth mask ensures a snug fit and provides an additional layer of protection.<\/p><p>Over a million <a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#cases_casesinlast7days\">new cases of COVID-19<\/a> were diagnosed in the US between January 21 and January 28. The Biden administration is taking steps to increase the distribution of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-19-vaccine-biden-300-million-doses-summer\/\">vaccines<\/a>, but it could be months before vaccinations make a meaningful difference in the state of the pandemic. In the meantime, it is still important to continue to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/stories\/16712\/what-is-social-distancing\/\">socially distance<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/stories\/17139\/kids-contract-covid-at-social-gatherings-over-school\/\">avoid gatherings<\/a>, limit non-essential outings and follow the most up-to-date guidance on stopping the spread of the virus. Wearing two masks is a simple step that could help prevent new infections and protect the most vulnerable members of our communities.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By now, most Americans are used to wearing a face mask whenever they step out, but new warnings from health experts suggest one mask may not be enough. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a physician and the current director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is telling Americans to consider&nbsp;double masking to fight the <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/double-mask-new-covid-strains\/\">Read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1264,"featured_media":39800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"enable_toc":false,"care_reviewed_by":0,"care_post_updated_flag":false,"care_updated_date":"","last_update":"2021-05-19","view_count":8044,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"member-type":[4],"vertical":[6,11],"platform":[2],"class_list":["post-6458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","member-type-all","vertical-children","vertical-news-trends","platform-resources"],"acf":[],"created":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6458"},{"taxonomy":"member-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/member-type?post=6458"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=6458"},{"taxonomy":"platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/platform?post=6458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}