Don’t throw your masks away just yet.
With the continued spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, health officials are advising caution worldwide. As of Monday, Los Angeles County health officials recommended that all residents mask up once again, even if they are fully vaccinated.
John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley School of Public Health and infectious disease expert joined Holly Quan and Jeff Bell Tuesday morning to discuss what this could mean for the Bay Area.
"We’re facing a variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, it’s far more transmittable than we’ve ever seen," said Swartzberg.
Despite the number of cases in California, and particularly in the Bay Area at an all-time low, Swartzberg is still concerned. "This virus is increasing in numbers quite rapidly," he said. "Roughly every two weeks, it doubles."
"I think being prudent now is the reasonable way to go," Swartzberg said.
The new mask policy in Los Angeles is most likely to help unvaccinated people protect other unvaccinated people, Swartzberg said. "Wear a mask if you’re not vaccinated, definitely."
But vaccinated people should still wear masks as well, as the vaccines are not 100% effective, he said. "Everybody wearing a mask protects everybody," he added.
Swartzberg would like to see a similar mandate for the Bay Area. "Why not add that to the wonderful protection we get from vaccines?"
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