- In an interview with the financial-news site TheStreet, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the public was initially told not to wear masks to stop COVID-19 because of shortages of PPE for doctors.
- He said the government’s shift in advice was because of “changing circumstances” and new research.
- He denied that earlier advice against wearing a mask was a contradiction of the new policy.
- Fauci now advocates masks “unequivocally” as a complementary measure to social distancing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday the reason the public was advised not to wear masks at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic was that there were too few to go around.
In an interview with the financial-news site TheStreet, Fauci, the US government’s foremost infectious-diseases expert, was asked about the changing government advice on wearing masks.
In January through March, as the spread of the disease became more and more serious, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actively discouraged the use of masks among the general public.
By early April, simple cloth face coverings were recommended for the general public, instead of protective personal equipment such as surgical and N95 masks, The New York Times reported.
www.businessinsider.com/fauci-mask-advice-was-because-doctors-shortages-from-the-start-2020-6