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Post by Admin on Dec 31, 2021 19:33:11 GMT
VERIFY: Are cloth masks 'useless' against the omicron variant? 139 views • Jan 1, 2022 • We're still learning more about the omicron variant of COVID-19. Here's what we do know: it's highly contagious, so you may be masking up more to protect yourself. But which kind of mask is best? The Verify team finds out. Here's David Schecter. Cloth face masks might not stop the omicron variant from transmitting between COVID-19 patients, according to health officials. Dr. Asha Shajahan, the medical director of Community Health for Beaumont Grosse Pointe in Detroit, told Fox 2 Detroit that a cloth mask isn’t enough to stop omicron. Instead, people need heavy-duty masks to ward off the variant. “You want to make sure it’s at least a three layer surgical mask or an N-95 or higher,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s not a cloth mask. A cloth mask does not offer the protection that you need.” Single-layer cloth masks aren’t enough to stop the omicron variant, she said. Surgical masks can work, though. “The purpose for wearing a mask is to offer filtration from the aerosol particles of the virus,” she said. “If you have a cloth mask you want to make sure it’s at least 2-3 layers, but I would recommend getting a surgical mask that actually has the filters built into the material,” Shajahan said. This seems to be a running theme among experts. Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of health policy and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told Health that face masks might not be enough to stop the omicron variant. “Omicron produces more virus, even than delta,” Schaffner told Health. “So, the masks’ capacity to interrupt or reduce transmission back and forth is likewise reduced.” But masks aren’t forever. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told ABC News in December that masks will be dropped once the pandemic comes to an end. “Masks are for now, they’re not forever,” Walensky told ABC News. “We have to find a way to be done with them.”
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Post by Admin on Jan 2, 2022 0:32:35 GMT
So far, it appears the omicron variant appears to create mild COVID-19 symptoms compared to earlier strains of the coronavirus. But the severe COVID-19 illness from omicron might be more severe than before. Per The Economist, the omicron variant has high transmissibility, meaning it could spread farther and wider than earlier strains. The good news is, though, that the variant appears to cause less severe symptoms. However, the omicron variant is so new that health officials might not have many options for treating severe cases. As The Economist explained, “once someone is so sick as to require hospital treatment, doctors may have fewer options available for Omicron than for its antecedents. Previous strains could often be treated with drugs called monoclonal antibodies. Omicron seems oblivious to most of these, and supplies of those that do affect it, newly developed versions made by GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology, are limited.” This means the omicron variant could put a heavy strain on hospital systems across the world, according to The Economist. “The infectiousness of Omicron and the consequent speed of its spread mean that hospitals around the world are wary of an onslaught of admissions happening at a time when many staff are unavailable because they, too, have been infected. All this could have an effect on care,” The Economist reports. Indeed, a recent study from researchers at Columbia University suggests the omicron variant of COVID-19 can evade COVID-19 vaccines, antibody treatments and booster shots, making the virus more transmissible, as I wrote for the Deseret News. The variant has been known to avoid natural antibodies from previous COVID-19 infections and make monoclonal antibody cocktails less effective, too. Still, the omicron variant has led to less severe COVID-19 symptoms and hospitalizations among the fully vaccinated. The unvaccinated population may face major risks from the omicron variant this winter.
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Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2022 4:05:45 GMT
Omicron Surge Leads To Major Staffing Shortages On The Frontlines 26,274 views • Jan 3, 2022 • The omicron surge is causing a major staffing shortage. Omicron's infection may be less severe, but it’s already straining a healthcare system struggling to treat the unvaccinated. The U.S. could be headed towards peak infection.
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Post by Admin on Jan 3, 2022 22:08:24 GMT
The Capitol's attending physician on Monday urged congressional offices to shift towards remote work due to a skyrocketing coronavirus positivity rate among staff. Why it matters: The push comes as the highly infectious Omicron variant has caused a resurgence of the pandemic across the country. Coronavirus cases have "exploded throughout the USA" due mainly to Omicron and the "residual" Delta variant, attending physician Brian P. Monahan said in an alert to congressional offices. What they're saying: "These variant viruses have caused an unprecedented number of cases in the Capitol community affecting hundreds of individuals," Monahan wrote. Monahan said the Capitol test center's seven-day positivity rate has risen from 1% to 13%. "Congressional offices, Committees, and Agencies should immediately review their operations to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible," Monahan wrote.
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Post by Admin on Jan 7, 2022 21:09:52 GMT
A new graphic from The Wall Street Journal offers a clue as to why cloth masks might not stop the omicron variant from spreading.
The graphic — which was shared widely on social media Wednesday — shows how long it takes for someone to get infected with COVID-19 if they’re wearing a certain type of mask and speaking with someone wearing a specific type of mask (or not one at all).
The graphic includes how long it would take for people wearing nothing, cloth masks, surgical masks and N95 masks to be infected by those wearing the same type of mask.
In all, the graphic shows that wearing an N95 mask offers the greatest protection. In fact, someone would be protected for 2.5 hours if they wore N95 masks and were talking to someone without a mask at all.
However, the graphic — which uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is a clear sign that cloth masks are less effective than before.
Experts have been talking about this for some time now. For example, Dr. Asha Shajahan, the medical director of Community Health for Beaumont Grosse Pointe in Detroit, told Fox 2 Detroit that cloth masks don’t stop the omicron variant.
“You want to make sure it’s at least a three layer surgical mask or an N-95 or higher,” she said. “We want to make sure it’s not a cloth mask. A cloth mask does not offer the protection that you need.”
But masks, in general, may not offer enough protection against omicron since it spreads so fast. The WSJ graphic shows that there is little protection over long periods of time. And Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of health policy and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, told Health that omicron produces more of the virus, making it hard for people to stay safe.
“Omicron produces more virus, even than delta,” Schaffner told Health. “So, the masks’ capacity to interrupt or reduce transmission back and forth is likewise reduced.”
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