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US health officials are taking a new route to encourage Americans to wear masks: They are pointing out recent research that a mask protects the person wearing it. Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to wear masks because of evidence that prevents people infected with the coronavirus, whether they know it or not, from spreading it to others.
But this week, the CDC released a new science brief discussing recent studies that found that the wearer gets some protection. The agency’s leadership hasn’t changed. He continues to advise Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus. “But now we’re saying there’s another reason” for doing it, said Dr. John Brooks, the CDC’s chief medical officer for the COVID-19 emergency response.
Agency officials were swayed by a recent study by Japanese researchers who used manikin heads and artificial respirators to simulate the spread of coronavirus particles in the air and assess how well the masks blocked transmission, confirming previous research according to which masks work best if worn by an infected person who could spread it by coughing, sneezing or talking. The masks block about 60 percent of the amount of virus that comes out of an infected person, according to the study.
But the researchers also found that there was an advantage when an uninfected person wearing a mask was unlucky enough to be close to an infected person who wasn’t wearing one. In this scenario, the amount of virus the uninfected person inhaled decreased by 37% – to 50% – if they wore a mask.
When both people wore masks, the decline in viral particles reaching the second person was greater, close to 70%. The studio didn’t perfectly mimic most real-world situations. For example, the heads were six feet closer together, and the exhaling manikin’s head made more constant coughing than regular breathing.
But Brooks said the value of all who wear masks is suggested by several other studies of real-world situations, including one of clients in a Missouri hair salon, another on a U.S. aircraft carrier, and several others who have tracked infections and deaths in places that have adopted masking warrants.
(Image credit: AP)
This story was not edited by www.republicworld.com and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.
(Disclaimer: This story was not edited by www.republicworld.com and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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