Former Food and Drug Administrator director Dr. ScottGottlieb said the delta the delta COVID variant is not more airborne and is notlikely to be more permeable to a mask but the type of mask is important,reported Alabama
By Shubhangi Mathur, 2:20 PM ET
N95 and KN95masks are being recommended by experts as coronavirus cases are increasingglobally due to the spread of delta variant.
Former Food and Drug Administrator director Dr. ScottGottlieb said the delta the delta COVID variant is not more airborne and is notlikely to be more permeable to a mask but the type of mask is important,reported Alabama.
“If you’re going to consider wearing a mask, the quality ofthe mask does matter,” Gottlieb said. “So if you can get your hands on a KN95mask or an N95 mask, that’s going to afford you a lot more protection.
“There’s plenty of N95 masks in the system. There are alsoKN95 masks available. So I would encourage people to look at the quality of themask and try to get their hands on a better quality of masks,” he added.
In thebeginning of the pandemic, disposable paper and cloth masks were advised to useas higher quality masks were needed by health officials.
KN95 are similarto N95 and provide equal levels of protection but are regulated by the Chinesegovernment.
More than93% COVID-19 cases in U.S. are due to the delta variant and the surge in casesand hospitalizations has led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention torecommend even vaccinated people to wear masks.
CDC hasissued recommendations for people to wear masks in areas with high number ofcases and in buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation andwhile indoors at transportation hubs such as airports and stations.