The public may opt to wear masks periodically even in the post-COVID era, says Anthony Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Dr. Fauci explained in a May 9 appearance on Meet the Press why he thinks people might elect to wear masks on a seasonal basis going forward—and it’s not necessarily due to COVID-19.
Dr. Fauci told host Chuck Todd that he thinks it’s “quite possible” that people will choose to wear masks during certain times of the year, particularly during cold and flu season. That’s because mask wearing appears to have had a dramatic effect during the most recent flu season.
The public has, of course, been wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but that consistent mask use also reduced the spread of other infections, such as the flu, Dr. Fauci explained: “We had a practically nonexistent flu season this year, merely because people were doing the kinds of public health things that were directed predominantly against COVID-19.” That includes wearing masks around other people, as well as social distancing and more vigilant hand-washing.
Masks provide a physical barrier against respiratory droplets and tiny aerosolized particles containing the virus that infected people spread into the air by sneezing, coughing, talking, and yelling. Wearing a mask prevents you from spreading those virus-containing particles to other people, and it can also prevent those droplets from infecting you. Other viral illnesses, including colds and the flu, can spread in the same way. So wearing a mask can help prevent those illnesses from spreading as well.
At this point, many of us have gotten used to wearing masks, and we’ve seen that they can be useful in curbing the spread of respiratory infections. So Dr. Fauci believes that it might feel like common sense for us to mask up during those months that other illnesses tend to spread.
“I think people have gotten used to the fact that wearing masks, clearly, if you look at the data, diminishes respiratory diseases,” he said. “It is conceivable as we go on, a year or two or more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory-borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory-borne diseases.”
As Dr. Fauci said, flu cases and deaths were lower in fall 2020 and winter 2021 than they were in previous years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that since 2010, the flu has resulted in 12,000 to 61,000 deaths, 140,000 to 810,000 hospitalizations, and 9 million to 45 million illnesses annually. And while the CDC has yet to release final reports on this flu season, the data so far indicate the case rate is unusually low.
For instance, surveillance data from select counties in 14 states (representing 9% of the U.S. population) shows there were 226 lab-confirmed flu hospitalizations between October 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021, which is “lower than rates for any season since routine data collection began in 2005, including the low-severity 2011—12 season,” per the CDC. Australia experienced a similarly significant drop in flu, Dr. Fauci noted: “They had almost no flu, largely due to the kinds of things including mask wearing.” (The actual timing of flu season fluctuates from year to year, but cases often start to rise in October and peak between December and February, according to the CDC.)
Of course, masks aren’t entirely responsible for the reduction in flu cases during the pandemic. For one thing, the CDC says, more people got vaccinated against the flu than the previous year. By the first week of February 2021, 55% of all adults got the flu shot, compared with 45% by the end of January in 2020, according to CDC survey data.
Other public health measures also likely played a role, such as gathering in smaller numbers, physical distancing in public, and reducing the frequency of social interactions. More-frequent hand-washing, working from home, fewer public gatherings, more vigilant monitoring for respiratory symptoms, and self-isolation when experiencing symptoms may also have helped keep flu numbers low.
Still, we know masks work—and they could continue to be a powerful tool that people voluntarily use to keep themselves and those around them safer during future cold and flu seasons.
Related:
- 13 Face Masks That SELF Editors Swear By
- Reminder: COVID-19 Is Much Deadlier Than the Flu
- COVID-19 vs. the Flu: Here Are the Symptoms to Watch For