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Fauci: Mask-wearing recommendation under 'very serious consideration' [Quotes.]
Politico ^ | March 31, 2020 | Quint Forgey

Posted on 03/31/2020 3:09:54 PM PDT by familyop

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, revealed on Tuesday that White House coronavirus task force is seriously considering guidance that all Americans wear masks to help thwart the disease's spread.

But Fauci also acknowledged that such a directive has been complicated by the nationwide dearth of personal protective equipment.

"The idea of getting a much more broad, community-wide use of masks outside of the health care setting is under very active discussion at the task force. The CDC group is looking at that very carefully," Fauci told CNN.

"The thing that has inhibited that a bit is to make sure that we don't take away the supply of masks from the health care workers who need them," he continued. "But once we get in a situation where we have enough masks, I believe there will be some very serious consideration about more broadening this recommendation of using masks."

Fauci cautioned that "we're not there yet," but said he believed the task force was "close to coming to some determination" on whether to expand the administration's recommended mitigation measures to include masks.

"Because if, in fact, a person who may or may not be infected wants to prevent infecting someone else, one of the best ways to do that is with a mask. So perhaps that's the way to go," he said, adding that the subject was "under very active consideration" and would be raised at the task force's meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Some public health experts, including former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner and informal administration adviser Scott Gottlieb, have suggested that encouraging the wearing of masks in public could help curb the rapid rate of COVID-19 infection in the United States, .

President Donald Trump on Monday said he had taken note of the proposal, outlined in a recent report Gottlieb co-authored, and that it could be possible that Americans will be directed to wear masks "for a short period of time."

"We'll take a look at it. For a period of time, not forever. I mean, you know, we want our country back. We're not going to be wearing masks forever," Trump said at the task force's daily press briefing.

The president also told reporters that "we're getting certainly the number of masks that you'd need" to implement the guidance — an assessment which Fauci appeared to disagree with on Tuesday.

"You don't want to take masks away from the health care providers who are in a real and present danger of getting infected," he said. "That would be the worst thing we do. If we have them covered, then you could look back and say, 'Maybe we need to broaden this.'"


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: facemasks; fauci; n95; ppe
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To: gibsonguy

Yes, I will sort of wear a mask ONLY if we open up in April.

I will NOT become a de facto Muslim woman in a hijab while they close churches.


21 posted on 03/31/2020 3:35:28 PM PDT by madison10
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To: ptsal

Thanks for the nausea.


22 posted on 03/31/2020 3:36:10 PM PDT by Justa (If where you came from is so great then why aren't Floridians moving there?)
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To: kaehurowing

True. Masks were mandated all over the U.S.A. during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. Our American ancestors weren’t so spoiled and did what they needed to do. Here are some photos.

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3830270/posts?page=55#55


23 posted on 03/31/2020 3:36:26 PM PDT by familyop ("Welcome to Costco. I love you." - -Costco greeter in the movie, "Idiocracy")
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To: familyop

This briefing today is a CYA propaganda blitz. They are jumping through hoops to justify destroying this economy because New York and New Jersey have too many people and not enough disaster planning. Brix and Fauci are painting themselves as heroes if they can hold deaths to 100,000, as their CDC was sleeping at the switch for years.


24 posted on 03/31/2020 3:36:42 PM PDT by txrefugee
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To: AlaskaErik

And where are all these masks going to come from?“

Well, now - THAT is an excellent question!

I understand it takes time to ramp up high tech ventilators. But masks?

We should have ten million a week by now. Why is this not happening?


25 posted on 03/31/2020 3:39:06 PM PDT by Jim Noble (There is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know)
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To: virgil

If you have enough that you can let some sit unused for 9 days that’s considered long enough for them to be effectively disinfected. Putting them in a paper bag (not plastic) is recommended because you want them to dry out. They can also be disinfected in an oven at very low temperature, but i figure there’s less chance of damaging them by just letting them sit unused.


26 posted on 03/31/2020 3:39:48 PM PDT by FreedomForce
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To: familyop

About time. It is incredibly hypocritical for doctors to say that they alone should be protected with them, that we should not be wearing them and protecting ourselves. Elitism is obnoxious


27 posted on 03/31/2020 3:41:53 PM PDT by Reno89519 (No Amnesty! No Catch-and-Release! Just Say No to All Illegal Aliens! Arrest & Deport!)
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To: Reno89519

About time. It is incredibly hypocritical for doctors to say that they alone should be protected with them, that we should not be wearing them and protecting ourselves. Elitism is obnoxious


Not about time. You might surprised to learn that not all hospital employees are wearing masks now. There’s a shortage and they are skimping on them. In some hospitals employees have even been told not to bring their own masks in.


28 posted on 03/31/2020 3:45:32 PM PDT by lodi90 (Flubro)
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To: kaehurowing

I just ordered pkg of 3 cotton masks, made in USA, Ca, on Amazon. They get it out the next day so delivery should be within say 7 days at the most.


29 posted on 03/31/2020 3:46:18 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: familyop

Fauci is always playing “up the President”.


30 posted on 03/31/2020 3:47:02 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: AlaskaErik

How many tanks, planes, radars, etc. did we build on a dime for WWII? Now, we can’t make masks?


31 posted on 03/31/2020 4:01:08 PM PDT by Catphish
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To: AlaskaErik

“where are all these masks going to come from? There aren’t enough for those who truly need them.”

More on making your own mask! The choice is yours.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESK4KSdX0AEhdCb?format=jpg&name=360x360

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy59oQArwXI


32 posted on 03/31/2020 4:01:53 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (NYers fleeing NY are presumed to be infected. They should be tested/quarantined in any other state!)
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To: AlaskaErik

“And where are all these masks going to come from? There aren’t enough for those who truly need them.”

Masks are being manufactured by Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Guy, the people who make Major League baseball uniforms, Ralph Lauren and other designers. Will these masks be effective? Probably not but it makes the manufacturers feel like they are contributing.


33 posted on 03/31/2020 4:02:58 PM PDT by LottieDah
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To: familyop

Whatever happened to “masks really don’t help that much” from a couple of weeks ago? Did some politician’s brother-in-law start a mask-making factory?


34 posted on 03/31/2020 4:06:27 PM PDT by The Duke (President Trump = America's Last, Best Chance)
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To: AlaskaErik
"And where are all these masks going to come from? There aren’t enough for those who truly need them."

The numbers needed for a national order for all to wear them are staggering. Where and when would such numbers be available? I haven't been able to find any locally or on line with less than about a projected delivery date of a month or more, as it is.

35 posted on 03/31/2020 4:06:32 PM PDT by Truth29
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To: familyop

So masks are good today, eh?


36 posted on 03/31/2020 4:10:01 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: The Duke

They were lying to keep the public from buying up masks needed by health care workers. That was obvious even as they were saying it.


37 posted on 03/31/2020 4:10:10 PM PDT by FreedomForce
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To: AlaskaErik
"And where are all these masks going to come from?"

Improvise.


38 posted on 03/31/2020 4:20:25 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: familyop

I bought a bunch of big headband-type things from Amazon. The are really versatile and come in male and female colors, and are stretchy.

If they start requiring them I am just going to wear one around my neck and pull it up when I go out. I will look like a Wild West bandit, but at least it is something.


39 posted on 03/31/2020 4:32:16 PM PDT by madison10
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To: TaxPayer2000

Going ‘bandit’ is about as useful as the average surgical mask is, and a good idea if you can’t get a properly fitted N95 or similar.

I’ve never agreed with the idea that masks are ‘useless’. They will save a lot of people from that random speck that might get in - as long as people are also being careful of what they touch, and practice diligent awareness with regard to not touching their faces; and frequently washing/disinfecting hands.


40 posted on 03/31/2020 4:33:54 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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