Fauci says mask-wearing can be seasonal after pandemic [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said that mask-wearing can be seasonal even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This year, a significant drop in flu cases was recorded.
• Over 114 million people have been fully vaccinated in the US as of May 9.

According to the US’ top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, wearing face masks can be a seasonal habit to fight common illnesses, even after the country surpasses the COVID-19 pandemic.

During Sunday’s interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Fauci said that it would be “quite possible” that Americans would opt to wear masks during times where catching the flu or colds is very common.

“We’ve had practically a non-existent flu season this year merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominantly against COVID-19,” he said. “So it is conceivable that as we go on a year or two or more from now that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory borne diseases.”

Per USA Today, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of California-Berkeley Dr. John Swartzberg said that it has been “an amazing year,” citing the significant drop of flu cases.

“In all my years of being a flu watcher… I’ve never seen anything like this,” Swartzberg noted, adding that this year’s dip in flu cases would not affect the upcoming season next year.

“It’s not like what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he said. “We don’t need to be exposed to influenza on a regular basis and get sick to have stronger immune systems.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu season this year was technically absent given the imposed COVID-19 restrictions such as mask-wearing and social distancing, with cases of lower than 2,000. During the 2019-2020 season, the agency recorded over 38 million flu cases nationwide.

Per the CDC’s latest guidance, fully vaccinated people could socialize indoors without masks and do outdoor activities without masks as well, except when in populous areas.

When asked whether indoor mask-wearing protocols could be soon lifted, Fauci said: “I think so. And I think you’re going to probably be seeing that as we go along and as more people get vaccinated.”

“As you get more people vaccinated, the number of cases per day will absolutely go down. We’re averaging about 43,000 a day. We’ve got to get it much, much lower than that. When that gets lower, the risk of any infection indoor or outdoor diminishes dramatically,” he continued.

Based on the data tracking of John Hopkins University, the US has at least 38 million COVID-19 cases and over 581,000 fatalities due to the virus, as of May 10. 

Per the CDC, over 152 million people in the US have received their initial dose of the vaccine, including over 114 million fully vaccinated people as of May 9.

Source: Miami Herald