Dr. Fauci: Masks Aren’t Enough…It’s Time to Start Wearing Goggles

The guidance that our nation has received in regard to the global coronavirus pandemic has been varied, to say the least.

Perhaps “scattershot” is a more accurate descriptor in this situation.  In either case, Americans have been inundated with various opinions and pieces of advice about how best to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  The reasons for these disparities are as varied as the advice itself, thanks to the novelty of this illness, as well as the global nature of the crisis.

In the US, we were first told not to engage in mask-wearing wholeheartedly, partially in order to prevent a shortage of all-important surgical masks for frontline healthcare workers.  Then, when the idea of donning facial coverings came back into vogue, we were told that any covering would do – whether it be cotton, neoprene, paper…whatever we could comfortably and affordably use.  The idea was simply to prevent our own respiratory droplets from traveling too far from our orifices.

One of the nation’s leading, (and most controversial), epidemiologists, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is now suggesting that we take things a step further.

Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Wednesday that Americans should consider wearing goggles or a face shield in order to prevent spreading or catching COVID-19.

“If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during an Instagram Live conversation on ABC News.

When asked if we’re going to get to a point where eye protection is recommended, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases responded, “It might, if you really want perfect protection of the mucosal surfaces.”

“You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye,” he continued. “Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it.”

Fauci has been both a maligned and vaulted figure during this coronavirus pandemic, and will almost certainly receive pushback against this latest suggestion…especially after being excoriated on social media for removing his mask while sitting close to a few friends at a Washington Nationals baseball game recently.