Health experts are insisting that the CDC should implement permanent mask mandates even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Despite many areas of the U.S. beginning to open up again and anecdotal evidence suggesting a significant drop in the number of people routinely wearing masks, some are loathe to go back to normal.
“We have seen benefits of masking that occur,” Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott told The Providence Journal. “So there may be a new form of normalcy where masks don’t necessarily have to go away.”
His sentiments were echoed by Dr. Leonard A. Mermel, medical director of epidemiology and infection control at Rhode Island Hospital, who said making people wear masks all the time was worth it to stop the spread of other viruses aside from COVID-19.
“Within the Lifespan system we are seeing far fewer of all the respiratory viruses than we are used to seeing at this moment in the calendar year… So it’s impressive: the COVID preventative strategies are having an impact on other respiratory viruses, which just makes sense: they spread in a similar fashion,” said Mermel.
“It would not surprise me if that became a recommendation from the CDC,” he said. “It’s a pretty low price to pay to try to reduce the risk to oneself and to particularly loved ones who may be at particular risk of these sorts of infections causing harm,” he added.
Other experts have argued that the impact of viruses will only be more severe in the long run if human immune systems are prevented from being tested by new infections, harming herd immunity.
Medical professionals are still attempting to have mask mandates become part of the “new normal” despite Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledging yesterday that it would be “common sense” for the CDC to start relaxing measures.
“I mean, if you are a vaccinated person, wearing a mask outdoors, I mean, obviously, the risk is minuscule,” Fauci told ABC’s This Week.
“Obviously the risk is really very low, particularly if you’re vaccinated,” he added.
Earlier this month, scientists revealed evidence that face masks were laced with toxic chemicals that cause a myriad of health issues.
“Preliminary tests have revealed traces of a variety of compounds which are heavily restricted for both health and environmental reasons. This includes formaldehyde, a chemical known to cause watery eyes; a burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; and nausea,” reported the Daily Mail.
According to Professor Michael Braungart, director at the Hamburg Environmental Institute, face masks being sold to the public are exposing them to “a chemical cocktail in front of our nose and mouth that has never been tested for either toxicity or any long-term effects on health.”
“What we are breathing through our mouth and nose is actually hazardous waste,” said Braungart.
Dr Dieter Sedlak, managing director and co-founder of Modern Testing Services in Augsburg, also discovered that the masks contain hazardous fluorocarbons that “are toxic to human health and scientists have recently called for them to be banned for non-essential use.”
Meanwhile, a new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that there is “little benefit” to 6 meter social distancing rules and that people who are as much as 60 feet away face the same risks.
“The distancing isn’t helping you that much and it’s also giving you a false sense of security because you’re as safe at 6 feet as you are at 60 feet if you’re indoors,” MIT engineering professor Martin Bazant told CNBC.
Article: Health experts encourage CDC to implement permanent mask mandates