The coronavirus is becoming more infectious. Heres how to protect yourself – San Francisco Chronicle

Just as the holiday-driven surge of coronavirus cases in the Bay Area appears to be slowing down, public health experts have a new battle on their hands: Mutations to the virus that make it more infectious, or able to partly evade treatments and vaccines, could lead to another sharp rise in infections.

What does that mean for you?

While scientists are working frantically to determine the risks posed by these variants, including one that took hold in the Bay Area in December and was linked to several major outbreaks, experts recommend people double down on safety protocols.

We have to be especially more careful independent of these variants because theres so many more people walking around infected today than there were in October, said John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. And because some of the variants may make it easier to get infected, it adds to the message of being more careful.

Here are steps to avoid the coronavirus, no matter the variant. Many are familiar safety measures, and experts say they should be taken more seriously than ever.

Wear a better mask or two: There is still a lot scientists do not know about the variants. But they have confidence that the primary route of infection is through airborne particles.

Bandannas, or common cloth masks with just one layer, may not afford enough protection. Experts say that the best cloth masks have three layers where the user can add filters between two cloth layers. The goal is to filter out enough viral particles to prevent you from hitting the threshold needed for infection.

Wearing a good mask, not just a single layer cotton mask or a gaiter, is sufficient when you combine it with social distancing and avoiding to the maximum extent being around other people, Swartzberg said.

Another option is double-masking with two cloth masks, or a surgical mask underneath and a cloth one over it which President Biden has sometimes done. Some experts also recommend over-the-head masks versus ones with ear loops for an improved fit.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University, said on the podcast In the Bubble: From the Frontlines said that she wears two masks when she goes to the store.

What people need to be thinking about is really doubling down on the measures they should have already been taking, she said. If youre exposed to more particles, youre more likely to get infected.

Loyce Pace, a member of President Bidens COVID-19 advisory board, said the same precautions scientists have been advising all along still work.

We still want people to be masking up, she said Thursday on a webcast hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. We still need people to limit congregating with people outside their household. We still need people to be washing their hands and really being vigilant about those public health practices, especially as these variants emerge.

Keep your distance, and cut down trips to the grocery store: Even if you have added layers of protection or access to a medical N95 mask, Swartzberg warns against going out and taking more risks.

Stay home as much as possible, and avoid gatherings, Rasmussen said.

If thats not possible, make sure youre always wearing a mask, make sure youre physically distancing; if you can ventilate the space that youre in, thats wonderful, she said.

You should also continue to limit the time you are around others who are not in your household.

Swartzberg said since the latest surge, he re-evaluated everything he does in terms of minimizing contact with people outside of his bubble.

We just have to put more work into avoiding other human beings, he said.

Anyone who can order groceries, meals and other necessities online ahead of time to be delivered or picked up curbside should take advantage of those services. For many who are unable to do that, having a strategy for when you leave the house can be helpful.

If you have to go to the grocery store, put more time in planning out exactly what you need, Swartzberg said. Get through the store as fast as possible, imagine where everything is in your mind. Try to go at a time when there are fewer people in the store early in the morning or late at night.

Get vaccinated: Vaccines are expected to remain effective against some variants.

But there are signs that some identified in South Africa and Brazil might be less susceptible to vaccines.

A recent study shows that nearly half of samples taken from people who were infected with the South African variant resisted neutralization by antibodies from convalescent plasma. A variant found in Brazil might also be resistant to convalescent plasma. Those studies raise concern that the variants may also be resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies.

But more research on both of these variants needs to be done and also on the Bay Area variant, which needs more study before scientists determine whether vaccines will be fully effective against it. The highly infectious and potentially more deadly British variant, B117, is believed to be containable via the vaccine.

This means there is an added urgency to get shots into the arms of as many people as possible, to slow the spread of the virus and its mutations. And over time, the vaccine formula may need to be tweaked to combat variants.

The slow rollout and the variants are connected because now were not only in a race against COVID, but were now in a different, slightly different race against a competition thats running faster than it was before, Robert Wachter, chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine, said on the In the Bubble podcast. So we have to run even faster to get people vaccinated, and get on top of this.

Aidin Vaziri and Kellie Hwang are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com, kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com

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The coronavirus is becoming more infectious. Heres how to protect yourself - San Francisco Chronicle