Fox’s Kilmeade Pushes Back After Surgeon General Says Healthy People Shouldn’t Wear Masks to Fight Coronavirus

Surgeon General Jerome Adams and Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade debated on Tuesday whether there’s a benefit for the general public to wear masks to protect themselves from contracting the coronavirus.

Kilmeade asked Adams on Fox & Friends if he changed his recommendation on mask-wearing after previously insisting that masks “might stop you from getting other people sick.”

Adams emphasized that health officials don’t recommend masks for the healthy general public, but he does think they should be worn by people who have the illness. He also warned people to keep practicing social distancing because “if [mask-wearing] encourages people to get together to close, you may mitigate or cancel out the effect of people wearing masks.”

“We still have PPE shortages across the country,” Adams continued. “We want to make sure we are reserving PPE for the people who most need it. That’s how you are going to get the largest effect because if healthcare workers get sick, they can’t take care of you when you get sick.”

“If you want to put that aside for healthcare workers, we get that, but if it could actually help us, we would love to know,” Kilmeade responded. He also noted how mask-wearing is a common preventive measure in China.

“The data doesn’t show that it helps individuals,” Adams said. “If you have a mask and it makes you feel better, then by all means wear it. But know that the more you touch your face, the more you put yourself at risk, and know right now the data isn’t quite there to say that there is a net benefit of individuals wearing a mask.”

Watch above, via Fox News.