SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – In a newly appointed request sent to Vice President Mike Pence, the Infectious Disease Society has officially urged the White House to issue a federal directive requiring all states to require masks for the to control pandemic.
Now, a new report supports their claim: a theory that mandate for face coverage can add an extra and very important benefit.
This theory is supported by mounds of evidence: that a national mask mandate gets us through the pandemic faster, without additional lockdowns – possibly with some form of immunity, because we are waiting for a safe and effective vaccine.
Masking can turn a very scary disease into a milder infection, which can give you and the people around you some immunity.
“Even if you get an infection, it seems that the evidence shows us that you get less virus and that you are less likely to get sick,” said UCSF infectious disease expert Dr Monica Gandhi. Dr Gandhi is lead author of the report published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Her research describes multiple layers of evidence.
It has been established that a higher dose of a virus leads to more serious illness. As early as 1938, in a paper published in the American Journal of Hygiene, there was evidence that reduced viral inoculum – as a dose – leads to less serious illness. In one study involving the flu, human volunteers were given different doses of influence and found higher doses led to more serious illness.
And with the novel coronavirus, late February to early March epidemiologists discovered that there is a high level of virus “spreading” from the mouth and nose, even among those who have no symptoms.
Dr Gandhi told KPIX how a mask, although not perfect, greatly reduces the dose you give or receive, resulting in a milder infection or no infection at all. They provided a few examples of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first happened early in the outbreak.
“We call it the story of two cruise ships,” Dr Gandhi said
She and her team compared the Diamond Princess in Asia to an expedition cruise in South America.
Both vessels were severely affected by a coronavirus outbreak. First, everyone had to stay on board, so the ships became floating petri dishes.
With the report of the first infection, the Diamond Princess did not immediately release masks, but the expedition cruise did.
The masking made a difference: the vast majority of infected passengers aboard the expedition cruise – 81 percent – remained asymptomatic. Dr Gandhi said that compares to 18 per cent who remained asymptomatic aboard the Diamond Princess where there were no masks.
In addition, Dr. Gandhi and her co-authors reported that when workers wore masks during an outbreak at an Oregon seafood plant and an Arkansas chicken plant, 95 percent of the workers who became infected remained asymptomatic.
“All this evidence leads us to believe that the mask filters viral particles. It makes you have less and you are less likely to get sick, ”Dr. Gandhi explained.
As of July 22, Drs. Gandhi said that, among a group of 30,000 tested by a Bay Area technology company called Color, the majority of those who tested positive had mild to no symptoms.
What those now notice in the ICU, Dr Gandhi pointed out, were mostly essential workers who did not receive a mask.
The next question: if you are infected with a smaller dose and have mild symptoms or have no symptoms at all, then you have immunity and for how long would you be protected? So far no one knows for sure, but there is no convincing evidence that you could be re-infected, just anecdotal reports.
There is some evidence among infected rhesus macaques that the infection protects the monkeys against any “re-challenge” or new infection. In addition, scientists among COVID-19 patients who recovered found T cells, which are well-suited for long-term immunity.
The goal is not to become infected, even asymptomatic. Mar Dr. Gandhi notes that the hopeful thing about asymptomatic infection is that it can act as a ‘vaccine of a poor man’ and provide some immunity and serve as a bridge until we get a vaccine.
“There is very hopeful data that you can be asymptomatic and still get that immunity … population-level immunity will drive the spread. It will naturally disperse spread while you wait for the vaccine, “said Dr. Gandhi.
‘It’s a wonderful theory. I hope it works, ”said Dr. William Schaffner, a renowned infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He said masks are critical in suppressing this pandemic, even if they are not perfect.
“It simply came to our notice then. Their hypothesis is that it gives you a milder infection. That, if you were protected on the cheap, and that can actually help give a lot of people protection, ‘said Dr. Schaffner.
He said the Gandhi report was another good reason to “mask.”
“We all have to continue to wear our masks every day when we leave our house,” Schaffner warned.
Dr Gandhi said that when it comes to choosing a mask, it is critical to find one that you will continue to wear, so make sure it is comfortable. An N95 can filter most particles, but most people cannot carry them to carry them for long periods of time. Not only that, even if you have a face mask that is less than perfect, it is better than not wearing a mask at all because of discomfort.
In addition to wearing a mask, remember to practice good hand hygiene and social distance.
WEBLINK: Gandhi Report
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