The top expert in infectious diseases in the United States was emphatic in pointing out other health aspects that would be essential to avoid contracting the coronavirus.
The mask would not be “enough” for a person not to get COVID-19, according to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States, Anthony Fauci; who recently assured that it is vital to implement another type of protection.
During an interview with “ABC News”, the epidemiologist pointed out the importance of protecting your eyes. In this sense, people should start using lenses in addition to continuing to use the mask.
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“Theoretically you should protect all mucosal surfaces (eyes, nose, mouth), so if you have goggles, glasses or an eye protector, you should use it. It is not universally recommended, but if you really want to be fully protected, you should use it if you can, ”he argued.
To this new health measure, Fauci added that it would be advisable for Americans to be vaccinated against seasonal influenza, since that could give people extra protection against the coronavirus.
Progress on the North American vaccine
The conclusions on the effectiveness of the first US vaccine against COVID-19 could be known before the elections of November 3, in which Donald Trump is reelected, although it is most likely that they will come in November or December, Fauci said. .
The vaccine developed by Modern biotechnology in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) began its phase 3 testing this morning, making it the first outside China to reach this critical point to verify its efficacy and safety before being distributed en masse.
“It is a world record for us to have been able to go from sequencing (of the SARS-CoV-2 virus) to phase 3 of a vaccine in such a short time. It has never been done before, ”explained Fauci, who assured that this process, which has only taken about 6 months, has not compromised the scientific rigor or the safety of the trials.
The director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said in a conference call that the first conclusions on whether the vaccine is likely to be produced and distributed among the population may come “in early November, but it could be sooner.”
“It is very difficult to put your finger on a date. Today is the first day and it will be necessary to see in the coming weeks if there is an increase (in the immune response) after 28 days (when the second dose will be administered), ”said Fauci, who said that he does not rule out that the first conclusions on immunity meet before November.
The dates of presentation of these results are essential, since if they occur in October they could fully enter the final stretch of the campaign for the elections of November 3 and give the Trump Administration arguments in favor of the republican’s reelection, whose response to the pandemic has been widely criticized for having overlooked the gravity of the situation.
Fauci stated that there are several important variables, such as the number of volunteers who join the tests of phase 3 of the Moderna vaccine, as well as the origin of those volunteers, since they must represent the regions and population segments with higher incidence of infections.
At 6:45 a.m. today (12:45 GMT), a person in Savannah, Georgia was the first to receive the Moderna vaccine. In the coming weeks, it should be administered to some 30,000 volunteers, half of whom will receive a placebo of a saline solution that will allow a statistical contrast to measure the immune response.
The director of the NIH, Francis Collins, pointed out that several teams of experts will determine which groups are a priority to receive the first doses of a vaccine that receives all the relevant approvals, but among them he highlighted health personnel, the elderly, people with previous illnesses , African Americans, and Hispanics.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Moderna, Stephane Bancel, assured that they have guaranteed the capacity to produce 500 million doses of the vaccine in 2021 and possibly can expand it to 1 billion.
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