Health officials and experts are renewing calls for masks as respiratory illnesses rise and Americans prepare for the holidays.
RSV infections in children appear to be peaking nationwide after weeks of high numbers in children’s hospitals, but they are unusually high. Influenza-like illnesses are at their peak this time of year, with flu-like illnesses accounting for more than 1 in 13 doctor visits, and hospitalizations continue to rise. 42 states have high or very high prevalence of respiratory infections.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise, signaling the potential start of a more dire winter outbreak. According to data tracked by The New York Times, cases have risen 56% in the past two weeks and hospitalizations have risen 28%, which generally lags the rise in cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 9% of U.S. counties have high community levels of Covid-19, based on the number of cases and hospital capacity. An additional 35% of US counties have average social levels.
The CDC recommends that everyone over 2 years of age wear a high-quality mask in public and indoors when social levels are high, and that vulnerable individuals should also wear masks when levels are moderate. In addition, the CDC still recommends that people wear masks when using public transportation, including planes, buses, trains, and subways.
Local calls
As infections continue to rise, local health officials are also encouraging residents to get their masks out again. For example, in Washington state, 12 county health officials and 25 health administrators issued recommendations requiring state residents to wear masks indoors.
“Our state and communities across the United States are experiencing an unprecedented increase in viral respiratory illnesses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and COVID-19,” the group wrote in a statement. As we work to improve the health of Washington residents, we recommend that everyone wear a high-quality, properly fitting face mask when around others indoors to protect against both transmission and transmission of these infections to others.
Similarly, Los Angeles County health officials have also emphasized mask-wearing as the region’s COVID-19 community status rises “significantly.”
“Our common goal during this pandemic is to reduce the burden of illness, hospitalizations and deaths, and we all know that it takes a community to do that,” Health Department Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday. Los Angeles County Public Health. . “If you wear your mask for those few weeks during this wave, it’s about the people of L.A. County. It’s about every individual, every visitor, our healthcare workers, essential workers and others who serve. Besides vaccination, it’s one of the easiest things anyone can do right now.
Nationwide, New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan issued an announcement on Friday: “Wear a mask at all times in any indoor public place, including outdoors. ‘Shops, offices, lobbies, corridors, elevators, public transport, schools, daycare centers and other shared public spaces and in crowded outdoor environments. »
More urgent
Health officials aren’t the only ones calling for more masks; Experts and Doctors Cover your face and listen. Former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams He recently tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask at an airport: “Vaccine, wore my mask and used lots of hand sanitizer on the trip. I don’t want to get the flu or RSV (or any other contagious virus) before Christmas, let alone Covid!”
Last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky noted that Americans also don’t need to wait until health officials recommend or wear a mask to protect themselves. “You don’t have to wait to wear a mask for CDC action,” he said. He added that the agency is “actively exploring” the prevalence rates of all respiratory diseases — not just COVID-19 — in its community-level categories to determine when people should wear masks. If the agency makes such a change soon, it could mean that mask recommendations could suddenly go into effect for the majority of Americans.
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