Mask and Goggles: Dr. Fauci urges Americans to wear goggles for added COVID-19 protection

Over the past few months, the debate has been about the effectiveness of masks. Now, that debate seems to be over. Almost everyone is in agreement that face covering and masks are, to some extent, effective against the spread of coronavirus. However, masks only helps you from spreading the virus to people around you. The mask does nothing to stop you from touching your face or eyes. That’s where eye shields or goggles come in.

Today, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, said face shields that block or prevent people from touching their eyes can be useful in helping prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Here’s the thing about the face shield in addition to the mask: the mask is to protect others,” Dr. Birx said on “Fox & Friends.” “The thing about the face shields – we think that that could protect the individuals and that it would decrease the ability for them to touch their eyes and spread [the] virus as well as those droplets coming towards them.”

Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, also said that if people have goggles or eye shields, they should use them.

Back in May, we wrote a piece about this particular topic and discussed the transmission of coronavirus through the eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), there is a likelihood that coronavirus can transmit through your eyes. AAO says the virus is thought to spread mostly by person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

AAO is not alone. Virologist Joseph Fair, PhD, an NBC News contributor, also raised the same concern when asked if  someone could catch COVID-19 through the eyes. According to WebMD, Dr. Joseph Fair said: “My best guess,” he told the interviewer, “was that it came through the eye route.” Asked if people should start wearing eye protection, Fair replied, “In my opinion, yes.” You can read more about the effectiveness of eye covering here.