Dr. Anthony Fauci said that face masks may not be effective on populations when looking at the “pandemic as a whole” but persists in his stance that people need to follow authorities’ recommendations and wear them.
In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Dr. Fauci was asked about a review published in late January at the Cochrane Library, which said there was no evidence to prove the spread of COVID-19 infection could be reduced by the use of face masks. Dr. Fauci admitted that “when you’re talking about the effect on the epidemic or the pandemic as a whole, the data are less strong.”
But he then went on to insist that when talking “as an individual basis of someone protecting themselves or protecting themselves from spreading it to others, there’s no doubt that there are many studies that show that there is an advantage.”
Dr. Fauci was the White House chief medical advisor during the pandemic when face mask use was pushed as a way to control the spread of the infection.
In the interview, Dr. Fauci said that he was “concerned” that people will not abide by COVID-19 recommendations.
“When you have a situation where the volume of cases in society gets to a reasonably high level—particularly the vulnerable—those who are elderly and those with underlying conditions are going to be more susceptible and vulnerable If they do get infected to get severe disease leading to hospitalization.”
In case the volume of COVID-19 cases reaches a level where organizations like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that people wear masks, “I would hope that they abide by the recommendation and take into account the risk to themselves and to their families,” he said.
According to the Cochrane review, an analysis of 78 randomized controlled trials (RCT) “did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks.”
In addition, “there were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection,” it said.
