As new strains of COVID-19 are showing up nationally and even in Kentucky, local and state health experts have begun discussing new issues and questions about the coronavirus. Though some are advocating safer or even multiple face masks to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible strains, Green River District Health Department officials are for now sticking with the same recommendations they’ve issued for months.
One new variant called B117 that first emerged in the United Kingdom has an unusually large number of mutations. According to the CDC, this variant spreads more easily and quickly than others.
The first known cases of the B117 variant in Kentucky were announced Tuesday.
“Some mutations cause the virus to become more effective,” Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner for the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said on Wednesday. “The COVID-19 B117 variant … that variant is more contagious, meaning it can infect more people. It’s not more dangerous or lethal for the person who gets it, but because it spreads to more people more easily, you could have more people get sick and die.”
Stack did not encourage Kentuckians to wear two masks on Wednesday but did say that the variant meant wearing masks was “more important than ever.”
GRDHD Director Clay Horton acknowledged that the virus has mutated, though he said the health department does not conduct tests to determine different strains of the coronavirus.
However, Horton said the rate of community spread with COVID-19 would likely mirror a virus’ ability to mutate and evolve — the higher the spread, the higher the chance for mutation.
“We’re concerned about the new strains — any time a virus evolves, will it be worse? Will the vaccines protect against new strains? These are questions we ask ourselves,” Horton said. “Viruses evolve. Strains that do better become more prominent. Things that are effective in the COVID-19 virus we know are effective in new strains as well.”
Studies have shown vaccines to be effective in protecting from the U.K. variant, Horton said, and a booster is being developed to fight off a South African strain.
During President Joe Biden’s inauguration, many people were seen donning two masks instead of one. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said wearing two masks would better protect a person from COVID-19, calling it “common sense.”
Horton, however, said GRDHD wasn’t prepared at this time to issue any new statements regarding the doubling of masks. He also said the community should stick with their current masks rather than seeking more protective ones, at least for now.
Owensboro Health has also not changed its mask policy as of yet. According to Director of Marketing Brian Hamby, OH does require all of its team to wear a surgical mask instead of a cloth mask in patient care areas.
“We also have surgical masks available upon entrance for patients if they need one,” Hamby said. “We are monitoring the situation and will post any updates to our social channels and website.”
And though vaccines are slowly being administered to the community, Horton said the rate of community spread was still way too high to get comfortable any time soon.
“Randomness [in mutations] occurs with uncontrolled spread, which we still have here,” he said. “More randomness leads to more variants.”
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