Biden medical advisor recommends 'double masking' as COVID-19 new variants prevention

MANILA, Philippines — We've seen people don two masks at the same time. While to some it may look uncomfortable, some experts think it may be time to do double masking especially with many coronavirus variants spreading now. 

Renowned American immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci shared his thoughts on the idea on his recent guesting on the "Today" show. 

“If you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective," he said. 

Fauci is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to US President Joe Biden. 

The United Kingdom (UK) variant, which he said has "more efficient capability of spreading," has found its way to the Philippines.

The patient is a male who arrived on January 7 from the United Arab Emirates.

Related: Why scientists think UK variant could be more deadly

The Department of Health has recommended the use of surgical masks, KN95 and N95, the latter preferably for healthcare workers on the frontline. 

These have to be approved by the Food & Drug Administration and must have 95% filtration efficiency as assessed by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Cloth masks are also recommended. 

In the Forbes.com article "Double-Masking: How Two Masks Block Covid-19 Coronavirus Better Than One," author Bruce Y. Lee cited a commentary in the journal "Med." 

He wrote that Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Linsey C. Marr, PhD, the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, recommended wearing at least a “high-quality surgical mask or a fabric mask of at least two layers with high thread count.”

They also shared that "wearing a cloth mask tightly on top of a surgical mask could provide even more protection."