The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon recommend all Americans wear two masks to improve their protection against coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday.
“It makes sense,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in a statement live stream interview with the Washington Post.
Fauci said he met with colleagues at the CDC on Monday about the possibility – and the agency has agreed to conduct a study to determine the effectiveness of wearing two masks.
“The reason they don’t recommend it at this point is that it’s a science-based organization called the CDC,” Fauci said. “They make recommendations based on data and science, so that’s why they’re going to look at that particular problem.”
Fauci said he is encouraging people to double up on masks because it “doesn’t hurt.”
“The reason a lot of people use double masking, and you’ve probably actually seen me wearing a double mask, is that you can make a general, logical extrapolation,” he said.
“If you put two on … [and] if you are looking to improve the physical barrier, it makes sense that it certainly cannot and cannot help. “
Fauci has previously called on people to start with double masking, although there are some concerns that the practice could do more damage if one isn’t worn correctly.
Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert who was an advisor to President Biden’s transition team, said there could be problems with masks that have “already compromised fit or filter capacity” that allow breathing droplets to escape from holes.
“If you put on another mask, it can even make it more difficult for the air to move through the two-substance area, and at that point it causes more air to leak down the sides, which even increases your ability to get infected. enlarged., ”he told NBC anchor Chuck Todd on“ Meet the Press ”Sunday.