TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands of people a day are now being vaccinated for COVID-19, but it will be a while before we can reach what experts call 'herd immunity' and let our guard down.
That's why infectious disease doctors want to reinforce the importance of wearing a mask, saying along with social distancing, it will save lives.
There's even a new ad campaign to #maskupamerica.
"There's very good data suggesting that if 95 percent of the population would wear a mask, we could actually between now and April 1, bring down the number of deaths from Coronavirus by 66 thousand deaths," said Dr. Carlos del Rio, the Vice President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "So this is about preventing you from getting infected, preventing others, but this is really about saving lives."
Soon you'll start seeing commercials and ads.
But remember, doctors say, it's not just about COVID-19, our health care workers are stretched thin and those who may be admitted to the hospital for other health reasons are also impacted when beds fill up.
"There may not be a bed for you to be in because there's so many COVID patients and there's only x number of beds. So, this is about the strain on our health care system that could potentially have tremendous implications for people that don't have Covid," Dr. del Rio said.
Dr. del Rio also stressed the importance of wearing a mask correctly. In order for it to be effective for you and other people, you must cover your mouth and nose.
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