The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon recommend all Americans wear two masks to increase their protection against coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.
“It makes common sense,” said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in a live interview with the Washington Post.
Fauci said he met with colleagues at the CDC on Monday about the possibility – and the agency agreed to conduct a study to determine the effectiveness of wearing two masks.
“The reason I’m not recommending it now is a science-based organization, the CDC,” Fauci said. “They make recommendations based on data and science, so that’s why they’ll look at this issue.”
Fauci said he encourages people to fold on masks because “he can’t hurt.”
“The reason a lot of people use double masking, and in fact you’ve probably seen me wearing a double mask, is that you can make a general extrapolation of common sense,” he said.
“If you put two … [and] you are looking to improve your physical barrier, it makes sense that it certainly can’t hurt and could help. ”
Fauci has previously asked people to start double masking, although there are some concerns that the practice could cause more harm if someone is not behaved properly.
Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert who was an adviser to President Biden’s transition team, said there could be problems with masks that have an “already compromised filtering or compromise capability”, allowing respiratory drops to come out of the holes.
“If you add another mask, it may make it more difficult for air to move through the two-blade area and then, at that point, it will cause more air to leak around the sides, which improves your ability to move. infect Chuck Todd, NBC presenter, told the Meet the Press on Sunday.