The United States’ leading infectious disease expert said it is “possible” that federal health officials will soon recommend “double masking” in an effort to better prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
Talking to the Washington Post, Dr. Anthony Fauci reiterated that researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are examining this issue, noting that more data is needed before a decision is made.
“It is possible” that the CDC recommends two masks, said Fauci. “Only [in] discussions with my CDC colleagues yesterday … CDC is looking to do a study to see if two masks can be better or not than one, it makes sense that you think – and the reason they don’t recommend it now is an organization based on science, [so] they make recommendations based on data and science, so they’re going to look at that specific problem. ”
Fauci’s comments came after the CDC on Friday said it is currently studying the effectiveness of double masks, specifically a cloth mask placed over a medical mask, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, although it still lacks “hard data” to support whether it would be better than wearing a single mask.
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“We do not recommend for or against double masking,” said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer of the CDC’s COVID-19 response. “We want to disclose all the options available to people. If we can get people to mask the end point, this is the first big step.”
Brooks, who was attending the Infectious Diseases Society of America briefing on Friday, said the agency would “share the information” as soon as possible. He said some evidence suggests that wearing a medical mask and cloth can block more than 90% or more of the virus particles, which would be close to the level of protection that N95 masks offer.
“You all know that wearing masks remains a key part of the public response to COVID-19,” Brooks said in his opening comments. “The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 2 wear a mask in public places and close to people outside their home.”
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Brooks added that the agency continues to assess the effectiveness of different combinations of materials and warned that sometimes more does not necessarily mean better, referring to the example of multiple condom use. However, if wearing a double mask makes one person feel safe and results in another person practicing wearing the mask, they do not anticipate this as a problem.
“If double masking is an option they would use when wearing a mask, I would wholeheartedly endorse it,” he said at the time.
Fox News’ Alexandria Hein contributed to this report.