After months of demands for federal health officials to update mask recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines on Wednesday, which include the use of tight-fitting face masks or two masks at a time to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
The updated guidance follows the launch of new CDC research that tested several masks in a laboratory setting and found evidence that the combination of a cloth mask over a surgical mask can dramatically reduce the spread of the virus to others and exposure to the virus itself.
The new CDC recommendations advise Americans to select masks with a nose thread that can be adjusted for a comfortable fit and to use a mask adjuster or support to better seal their masks. The CDC also recommends using a multi-layered mask for added protection or a layer of a cloth mask over a disposable medical mask.
For a better fit, it is advisable to knot the handles of the disposable mask and then fold and smooth the extra material on the sides.
The CDC states that it does not recommend using two disposable masks at a time. And he says that there is no need to layer another mask with a KN95 mask, the alternative commonly used for professional-grade N95 masks used by health professionals and first responders.
“I want to make it clear that this new scientific data released today does not change the specific recommendations on who should wear a mask or when they should wear it. But they do provide new information on why wearing a well-fitting mask is so important,” The director of CDC, Rochelle Walensky, said at a COVID-19 meeting at the White House.
For the new study, the CDC researchers tested combinations of multilayer tissue and common masks for surgical or medical procedures in a laboratory, simulating breathing and coughing between pairs of mannequins.
When only a disposable mask was used, only 42% of the cough droplets were blocked in the experiment. The combination of the disposable mask and the cloth mask on top blocked 92.5% of the particles expelled by the cough.
Combining the two masks also reduced the user’s “cumulative exposure” by 83% of the droplets scattered from an unmasked source, the study reported. That number rose to 96.4% if both models were equipped with double masks.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
“The data in this report underscores the finding that a good fit can increase the overall efficiency of the mask. Several simple ways to improve the fit have proven to be effective,” wrote the researchers.
The new research comes after months of calls from CDC supporters to update their guidelines to include the recommendation to wear two masks, after other studies and anecdotal evidence suggested the measure could contain the spread of the virus. The agency’s top officials refused to change their official recommendations until this new survey was completed, although many – from President Biden to Dr. Anthony Fauci – had already been caught wearing two masks.
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In other countries, a handful of health officials have instructed citizens to completely abandon cloth masks in favor of single-use, high-filtration masks. The German government determined “medical masks”, such as surgical masks or KN95, on public transport and stores last month.
The CDC announcement comes amid fears of a potential increase in new cases of more infectious diseases virus variants now circulating in the United States. The agency had previously predicted that the rapidly spreading B.1.1.7 strain of the virus, which was first identified in the UK last fall, could become the dominant strain here in March.
“We must not despair about this because there are things we can do to prevent it. It is not out of our power to do that,” said Dr. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical advisor for the response to the pandemic, on Wednesday. .
The tracking of some previous cases of variants of the virus in the United States revealed that its spread was being fueled by people who simply did not wear masks and held personal meetings, said the CDC.
“The two things we can do are some of the things that Dr. Walensky just mentioned: seal the masks, avoid crowded environments, keep your distance and wash your hands together when the vaccine is available to you, please get vaccinated.” Dr. Fauci said.