Fauci defends masking amid rising COVID cases: ‘I would hope’ people follow recommendations
(The hill) – Former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Saturday defended the masking amid a spike in COVID cases across the country and said he hoped people would listen to health officials’ advice.
in a (n Interview on CNNFauci said he’s concerned Americans won’t listen to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations — even if mask requirements become necessary again.
“I worry that people are not following the recommendations,” he said. “I would hope that when we get to the point where the number of cases is this high and organizations like the CDC recommend — the CDC doesn’t mandate anything — that they recommend people wear masks, I would hope that people are following this recommendation and considering the risks to themselves and their families.”
A small number of companies have already started asking their staff to wear masks again, raising concerns that national recommendations may be needed again soon.
Fauci, who has been the face of the US COVID response under the Trump and Biden administrations, said a study earlier this year claiming masking was ineffective was actually misleading.
“When you talk about the impact on the pandemic as a whole, the data is less telling,” said Fauci, who resigned from his senior health post last year. “But when you talk about someone protecting themselves on an individual basis…there’s undoubtedly a lot of research that shows there’s an advantage [to masks].”
The study from the UK’s respected Cochrane database claimed that the masking “probably makes little or no difference”. It quickly became known in anti-mask and COVID-skeptical communities this spring, but already labeled as misleading by fact checkers.
Cochrane also issued a statement saying the play was “Largely misinterpreted” March.
COVID cases are on the rise again nationwide after a late summer surge hit cities like Houston particularly hard. According to this, in the last week there has been an increase of about 19% in COVID hospitalizations and an 18% increase in deaths CDC data.
Despite the recent increase, the figures are in line with hospital admission rates from last February, which fell after a winter spike.
