Straight Talk on Masks from Anthony Fauci
In a widely shared YouTube interview with Lilly Singh, Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, explained the rationale for wearing face masks. He also explained why the CDC didn’t initially suggest that Americans wear them.
“The primary purpose of a face mask is to protect a healthcare worker when he or she is taking care of somebody that’s sick. The secondary use is to get someone who is sick to put it on themselves to prevent them from infecting somebody else. Other people who want to protect themselves in society, they can use face masks. The reason we didn’t recommend it early on is we didn’t want the supply of face masks to be used for people who didn’t really need it when the physicians and the nurses and the healthcare providers who needed it weren’t getting it. In a perfect world, if you have enough face masks, there’s nothing wrong with wearing a face mask. Is it 100% protective, no way. What is it, estimate, maybe 50% or so, and that’s merely an estimate. There’s some degree of protection, but it isn’t completely protected against the transmission.” (https://www.youtube.com/embed/F2YKKba6ps0)
