The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a series of new guidelines this week, with tips on topics such as wearing masks and quarantining after exposure to COVID-19.
The guidelines respond to threats from new, more contagious virus strains, but also indicate what life might look like after the vaccine in the US
Here are five things to know about the agency’s advice.
Tighter masks provide better protection
The CDC on Wednesday launched a study on how to ensure that masks provide the best possible protection against coronavirus infections. Evidence has shown that wearing a well-fitted surgical mask or cloth mask over a surgical mask can significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The study found that the transmission of the virus can be reduced by up to 96.5% if both an infected and an uninfected person wears well-fitted surgical masks or a combination of cloth over the surgical mask.
The best way to ensure a tight fit with a single surgical mask, according to the CDC, is to tie the ear curls and screw them to the sides close to the face.
The CDC has also recommended that you wear a mask fastener or a fastener that can fit over a cloth or disposable mask to make sure no air enters or outside the edges. .
Two masks are only sometimes better than one
Biden administration officials want people to wear masks, but the CDC does not specifically say that people should disguise themselves twice whenever they are away from home.
A combination of cloth over surgery offers the best protection, but any kind of face covering is better than none.
“What the CDC says is at least, wear a mask. OK? That’s what they say. Make sure you’re wearing a mask.” Anthony Fauci
Anthony Fauci Most of the US workforce continues to work remotely against the coronavirus: survey Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by TikTok – Demons support their case; verdict on Trump this weekend Overnight Health Care: Biden says US will have enough doses to vaccinate every American by July | Fauci believes the widespread distribution of vaccines could be available in April The long-awaited CDC guidelines on the reopening of schools coming tomorrow MORE, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said in a recent interview with NBC’s “Today.”
“Then you want it to fit better, so one of the ways you could do it, if you wanted to, is to put a cloth mask over it … That’s all they say,” Fauci added.
During a call with reporters discussing the study, the CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Overnight care: CDC calls for reopening of schools with caution | Cuomo faces increased control over deaths in nursing homes COVID-19 | Biden officials move to start overturning Medicaid work requirements CDC urges schools to reopen precautions Montana governor lifts state mask mandate MORE stressed that the agency’s guidelines on masks do not change.
“I want to be clear that this new scientific data released today does not change the specific recommendations on who should wear a mask or when they should wear one, but provides new information about why it is so important to wear a mask. well protect yourself and others, “Walensky said.
However, the CDC has warned that double masking does not always provide the best protection. For example, doubling disposable masks will not help improve fit and will not combine any mask with a KN95 respirator.
New strains of the virus increase the need for safe practices
Mask recommendations come as new, more contagious strains of coronavirus are discovered in many states across the country.
But the emphasis on the right masks highlights the position of health experts and government officials: people should not change their behavior just because there are new variants of the virus.
Mutations that lead to variants can only occur if the virus is able to spread and replicate. If you stop spreading, you stop the risk of a new mutation.
Until there is widespread immunity, people are advised to continue wearing masks, keep physical distance and avoid large crowds, especially indoors – essentially the same advice that experts have given since the spring of last.
“So the way to stop this is to stop the transmission of the virus by masking,” CDC chief physician John Brooks said in an interview with SiriusXM’s “Doctor Radio Reports.”
Officials warn against lifting restrictions
States and cities across the country continue to lift coronavirus restrictions, including repealing the mask mandate, allowing indoor dining and increasing indoor capacity limits.
But senior health officials have kindly suggested that while cases, deaths and hospitalizations have dropped, now is not the time to ease mitigation efforts.
“These options are a threat,” Brooks said. “This is not unexpected … but we are in a place where we cannot guard ourselves yet. I don’t think now is necessarily the best time for some communities in America to withdraw them as masking mandates, if you will. “
The variant first found in the United Kingdom is at least 40% more infectious than current strains and is expected to become the dominant variant in the US from next month. A variant first identified in South Africa has also spread.
If cases with these variants start to increase, this could overwhelm hospitals and give a significant blow to current mitigation efforts.
Walensky also urged states not to lift restrictions yet.
“I have not yet controlled this pandemic. We still have this emerging threat of variants and I would simply discourage any of these activities. We need to keep all mitigation measures in play here if we are to really get control of this pandemic, “she told reporters in a briefing Monday.
Vaccines work
One positive update the CDC made this week is that people who have been vaccinated should not be quarantined if they are exposed to someone with COVID-19.
According to the updated guidelines, most people who have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks should not be quarantined after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 if they have no symptoms.
The message is: If you have been vaccinated, we know you are protected from symptomatic infection.
More importantly, the guidance signals that the CDC recognizes for the first time that the vaccine could also prevent people from spreading the disease.
While asymptomatic individuals are still at risk for the spread of coronavirus, the CDC said that “symptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission” is considered to have a greater role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission.
This information can also help employers and employees as people begin to move back to work. The benefits of not forcing people to freeze for two weeks for possible exposure may outweigh the risks of transmission.
One caveat, however, is that the CDC says it is not known how long the protection will last, which means that people who had the last blow three months or more ago should still be quarantined if exposed.