NEW YORK - Masks are back, and, this time, they’re not just for Covid-19. A “tripledemic” of the coronavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, sweeping through the United States has prompted several cities and counties, including New York City and Los Angeles County, to encourage people to wear a mask in indoor public spaces once again.
The CDC officially advises wearing a mask on a county-by-county basis depending on community Covid-19 levels, which take into account virus-related hospital admissions, bed capacity and case rates. However, in an interview with NPR last week, Dr Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said, “You don’t need to wait for CDC’s recommendation, certainly, to wear a mask.”
Dr Helen Chu, an associate professor of allergy and infectious diseases at UW Medicine in Seattle, went a step further, recommending everyone wear a mask while infection and hospitalisation rates are so high. “I think it’s a good time to mask,” she said. “Given where we are right now with hospitals being at very close to capacity, especially in pediatric hospitals with RSV and with flu, I think that anything that you can do to slow down community transmission is going to be helpful.
Rates of influenza and other respiratory viruses essentially flattened during the 2020 and 2021 winter seasons, which was largely attributed to the protections the country took to prevent the spread of Covid-19. “What Covid has shown us, because we’ve been social distancing and mask wearing, is that influenza, the common cold viruses, RSV are suppressed remarkably” by these small individual behaviors, Dr Schaffner said.
“The basic truth is that masks work,” said Ms Syra Madad, senior director of the systemwide special pathogens program at New York City Health + Hospitals. “Whether you’re talking about Covid-19 or other respiratory viruses like RSV and flu, wearing a mask will help protect you against all these respiratory viral illnesses.”Other public health measures, such as hand washing, surface wiping and air filtration, are also important to limit the spread of respiratory viruses.
When weighing when and where to mask, Ms Madad recommended paying attention to the “Three Cs”: close contact, crowded spaces and confined places with poor ventilation.
straits_times 2 things we have learned over the past few years; 1. California and New York consistently do the wrong thing, and 2. The WHO is not a health organization