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Since, anyone at any time could be infected and may not be aware of it, it is everyone’s responsibility to wear face masks.
There are a lot of misconceptions and myths around the COVID-19 virus. In a bid to dispel some of the misconceptions and make people aware of safety protocols, Mark Zuckerberg held a Facebook Live with the infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr Fauci has been the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. Here we provide a glimpse of the most important points that Dr Fauci spoke on in the programme. This will help you deal with the contagion in a more informed manner.
There has been some confusion in people's minds over whether COVID-19 virus particles stay suspended in air or if it falls quickly to the ground. Dr Fauci says that most of the droplets that are released when people speak are bigger than 5 micrometers and heavy. They may travel to 3 to 6 feet in the air. So you are safe if you practice social distancing. But some droplets are less than 5 micrometers and much lighter. These can float around in the air and stay suspended for some time. As he says, it is still not known for how long these particles can stay suspended in the air. So it is better to play it safe and wear a mask.
In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Fauci had said that masks are not necessary to prevent transmission. Even the CDC was of the same opinion. But this was not because they thought masks were not essential. They were trying to prevent a shortage of personal protective equipment looking at the larger picture especially among healthcare workers.
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As Dr Fauci says, "Early on, there was a real concern about the lack of personal protective equipment on the part of health providers who needed it. So, the recommendation was not to wear a mask because of the shortage of it." But as the disease progressed, they realized that there was no shortage of PPEs. They also saw that fabric and home-made face masks worked well for the general population. Moreover, around 20-45 per cent of people were asymptomatic and were responsible for the spread of the disease. Looking at all this, they changed their stance and recommended masks for everyone. As he says, face masks protect you from giving infection to someone else. Since, anyone at any time could be infected and may not be aware of it, it is everyone's responsibility to wear face masks.
Dr. Fauci mentioned that remdesivir has been used successfully in treatment of severely ill patients. When administered at 6 milligrams a day for up to 10 days, the death rate in ventilated patients was "severely diminished," he said. He hopes that scientists will develop more drugs in the near future. On the vaccine front, he admitted that he is "cautiously optimistic" that at least one safe and effective vaccine could emerge this fall.
Dr Fauci says that today the median age of infected people is about a decade and a half younger than it was a few months ago. So young people are more involved in what's going on now with this pandemic. This may be because they are not taking the precautions too seriously and may act carelessly. Most teenagers and young adults think that it won't happen to them. This makes them careless. Moreover, even if they do fall sick, they may not feel it. So, they don't care. This brings with it the risk of transmission to a vulnerable person, an elderly person, one who is immunocompromised, a child who has cancer and is on chemotherapy and so on. In Dr Fauci's words, "You have to have responsibility for yourself but also a societal responsibility."
(Content sourced from Facebook)