Many of us are tired of hearing about COVID, but unfortunately it's still a part of our lives.
Although data from the CDC shows weekly hospitalizations from COVID have been on the rise since July, Doctor Anthony Fauci says this season shouldn't be as bad as previous years.
Especially because the updated booster will offer more protection. However, the CDC still recommends that people who are immunocomprised wear masks for extra protection.
Brothers Keane and Shaun Veran know all too well about the importance of masks due to Keane's experience with a cancer of the blood called acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was just 10 years old.
"Your doctors all the time were telling us about how dangerous an infection could be, like a simple cold could be a trip to the ICU when you're undergoing chemotherapy because your immune system is so compromised," Shaun said. "And so one thing that your doctor recommended was to wear a mask when you're going into really crowded spaces. And this was back, in 2008, 2009."
Keane is now cancer free, but still sympathizes with all the immunocompromised.
Keane's experience with cancer is what led the brothers to start a business calledOURA Inc. They embed antimicrobial compounds like copper, titanium and zinc directly into items like towels, hats and masks.
"It sounds almost dramatic, but it really can be a matter of life and death when you you're immunocompromised and you have to deal with this kind of virus that has been taking lives from people with stronger immune systems than you have," Keane said.
They actually started working on masks before the pandemic. They've done third-party lab testing to validate that the masks can filter out 99.9% of bacteria, fine particles, and viruses like COVID-19.
Now they're trying to spread the word so people know about their mask with COVID numbers back on the rise.