Former CDC Acting Director Dr. Richard Besser doesn’t see the United Kingdom and South Africa variants as the only ones — there will be more.
What’s going on?
Besser told the “Today” show that the new COVID-19 variants popping up in the United Kingdom and South Africa won’t be the only ones hitting the world in the near future.
- “These are likely not the only variants or mutants that we’re going to see,” he told the “Today” show.
Besser added that the United States needs to prepare to handle variants so that they don’t spread faster.
- “If we’re sloppy, if we’re not doing those things that we need to do, it will spread easier,”
- Besser said he is not a double masker.
Context
In recent weeks, public health officials have suggested wearing two masks to help fight the novel coronavirus variants, as I’ve written about for the Deseret News. Officials said double masks would add more protection, which could help stop any highly-transmissible variant from infecting you.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC News’ “Today” show on Monday that double-masking “likely does” protect people more from variants and the current mutation of COVID-19.
- “So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci told the “Today” show. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”