Cristian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 - first reported, according to scientific research, in a market in the central region of Wuhan, China - has raised the number of deaths worldwide due to this easily transmissible disease that, in just one week, has surpassed the number of deaths by 4 million and more than 185 cases of contagion.
The World Health Organization -WHO- established the beginning of the pandemic by COVID-19 on March 11, 2020. Since 485 days ago, governments in different parts of the world established new health safety measures that, to date, have changed people's habits, including frequent hand washing, physical distance between people in public places and the mandatory use of masks at all times.
However, the adoption of the measure of the use of the mouthpiece was shrouded in controversy and the denial of use in a small sector of the population that caused, during the peak of the pandemic, the annoyance of those who imposed the health regulations.
For this reason, Ethnic Media Services held a briefing session to discuss people's views months into the vaccination of the population and the continued use of masks.
So far, only 158 million, 287,566 people have completed their immunization schedule in the United States, which represents 48 percent of the population.
Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, a senior epidemiologist with the Federation of American Scientists who was also among the first people to warn about COVID-19, said the level of protection from an incomplete vaccination schedule is greatly reduced, he said, by as much as 18 percent. He warned that it is possible that, even with a complete vaccination schedule, it is possible to transmit and contract the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, so the vulnerable population remains vulnerable.
In addition, he said the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are "wrong" to relax the use of face masks, contrary, for example, to what the WHO has said.
He noted that protecting one's own health and the health of others should always be the number one priority for social welfare following the new back-to-school recommendations for children, which he said poses an additional risk to parents. He recommended ventilating the study area, UV disinfection and HEPA air filters, as well as the use of mouth covers for children.
"Science has clearly shown that this coronavirus is transmitted from person to person; the population should not be confident that herd immunity will soon exist." He said it is important to find the right strategies to encourage people who resist vaccination to get immunized.
Dr. Jose Perez, medical director of the South Central Family Health Center in Los Angeles, said that, as with the first strain of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and the delta variant, the public should protect themselves in the same way. He noted that science has shown that proper use of mouthguards is one measure that has helped successfully prevent more cases of COVID-19 and, therefore, the number of associated deaths.
He indicated that, after the massive use of the mouthpiece by the population, some people suffered disorders because they could not identify the emotions conveyed by other people in the social context; that is, the lack in the observation of facial expressions can lead to mental problems; instead, it is preferable, he said, to save lives through the use of the mouthpiece.
Dr. Ben Neuman, chief virologist at the Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M University, said it's frustrating, from the scientific community's point of view, to ignore the recommendations the CDC has issued about relaxing the use of mouthguards, indicating that the government's stance may have influenced his personal decision to take this step.
He also said "it's a matter of time" before the new coronavirus finds an even more aggressive mutation than the delta variant. "Protection starts with oneself," Neuman said, urging people to get vaccinated regardless of their political stance.
