Harvard University director for its Healthy Buildings program Joseph Allen has sounded off on mixed messages about wearing face-coverings as the world goes into its second year of dealing with the pandemic. And the simple verdict is that we should all still wear face masks to protect ourselves from COVID-19.
A few weeks before she was set to celebrate her birthday, French nun Lucile Randon (or Sister Andre to those closest to her), tested positive for COVID-19. Though she did not feel any major symptoms, she placed herself in quarantine inside her Toulon home for fear that she might pass on the virus to other residents.
With the increasing demand for medical-grade N95 and KN95 respirators that can provide healthcare workers a 95% level of protection against COVID-19, supplies are quickly running out and forcing some medical staff to wear surgical masks instead.
While several COVID-19 vaccine brands have already secured emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO) and many other countries, there are still a few questions from the general public concerning their efficacies, potential adverse effects, or if we should keep wearing face masks after being vaccinated.
As early as July last year, Americans have already accepted how face masks will remain commonplace into the future. One McKinsey survey reported that 88% of Americans believed that COVID-19’s infection rate will reduce in nine months. Evidently, the opposing 12% proved to be more correct with the U.S. reaching its record-high of 402,270 new cases on December 20 last year and coming to a total of 30.2 million infected individuals to date.
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that COVID-19 can spread via respiratory droplets from sneezing, coughing, and talking or through airborne transmission, face covers that can filter aerosol particles have become a part of everyone’s daily essentials wherever we go, and whatever we do.