US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has issued an urgent request: “Stop buying face masks.” Adams’ Twitter posting on Saturday came in response to face mask shortages as people have been stocking up due to coronavirus concerns. Jackson Hole Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Stephanie Ninnemann explains that producers of masks have been having trouble keeping animal and human health care facilities adequately supplied.
“There are many health facilities across the United States that are trying to get this protective equipment from their distributor, and their distributors are saying you can only have “X” amount of these things for the entire month – and even then they are not guaranteed they are going to get it.”
Dr. Ninnemann adds that masks are really most effective in stemming the spread of the virus when worn by those infected.
“The masks are a great thing for those who do have the virus because it is spread through respiratory particles; that is to say, what is being breathed or sneezed out. So, an infected person should definitely be wearing a mask, but its efficacy in people who don’t have the disease and are just going about their day walking down the street is not going to be nearly as great.”
The best defense against contracting a coronavirus, whether it is Flu, SARS, MERS or COVID 19, is to avoid contact with those infected and wash one’s hands frequently. Dr. Ninnemann also emphasizes that the disease is not of a type that affects animals, and so cannot be contracted or spread by house pets.
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