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Health Experts
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rebuilder
Posted 3/5/2021 06:33 (#8873774 - in reply to #8873098)
Subject: RE: Health Experts


Bourbon,Indiana

dougmn - 3/4/2021 20:25 Health experts warn lifting COVID-19 mask mandate could create resurgence in Texas and really that is why we are seeing covid cases drop because of the people doing the right thing by wearing masks and distancing and sanitizing. Health experts warn lifting COVID-19 mask mandate could create resurgence in Texas AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — State and national COVID-19 health experts and Travis County leaders say Governor Abbott’s move to loosen statewide COVID-19 safety measures could put Texas communities at risk of another surge. “And there’s nothing that can be worse for our health, our safety, and frankly our businesses, then having another surge of COVID," said Travis County Judge Andy Brown. Health experts warn lifting COVID-19 mask mandate could create resurgence in Texas cases Judge Brown tells CBS Austin right now he is working with the County Attorney to determine exactly what the governor’s orders will allow local leaders to do when it comes to enforcing best practices among the community. “Because frankly it’s confusing,” he said. “But I do know that the order does not take effect until March 10th, and I do know that science tells me that we need to keep wearing masks because this pandemic is not over yet.” Brown says one of the biggest concerns is only 5.6% of the Travis County population has been vaccinated so far, and while state and local leaders are improving vaccine distribution, it is still nowhere near herd immunity. “We say herd immunity is about 80% between infection, previously infected, and vaccinated,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad. “And right now we don’t see it in Texas. Right now, we have less than 20% of people in Texas have been infected, and if you add the percentage of people who have been fully immunized, we’re not even at 30% yet." Mokdad is a Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Chief Strategy Officer for Population Health at the University of Washington. Mokdad says their projections estimate about 77% of Texans are choosing to wear face coverings, but he worries Governor Abbott’s new order eliminating the statewide mask mandate will reduce compliance and ruin the progress in lowering COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. “We’ve seen it before, this is déjà vu. Last year, we relaxed prematurely, [and] we saw a rise in cases and [a] rise in hospitalizations, and eventually mortality. We had a second wave in July last year,” said Mokdad. Mokdad adds that Texans and the rest of the country need to be even more vigilant with more COVID-19 variants present in the U.S. “They are more likely to be transmitted, and also previous infections do not protect you from it," he said. Despite these concerns, Governor Abbott says Texas is better equipped to handle COVID-19 spikes and hospitalizations with the advancement of new therapy treatments and the increasing distribution of vaccines. “The state rationale of the governor is not incorrect. We’ve got better treatment now than we’ve had before. we have vaccines that are highly effective, and the availability of vaccines is increasing,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, Dean of Clinical Affairs at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. McDeavitt says it makes sense for Texas to continue reopening more businesses. However, masking and social distancing should still play an vital role in those efforts. “I’m actually very sympathetic to the need to reopen businesses and I think we should aggressively be trying to reopen businesses, but I would do that in the context of safe practices,” said McDeavitt. “At this point in the pandemic, cramming a lot of people into a closed space with poor ventilation is going to spread COVID-19. We’re not there yet.” McDeavitt added, “We’ll know in the next two to six weeks, we’ll see the numbers start to increase if this was maybe a little of an early decision.” Medical experts and local leaders emphasize that Texans should continue to wear masks and get vaccinated as soon the opportunity is available.







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