CDC recommends double masks to help protect against COVID-19

After months of update requests from federal health officials mask recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday announced new guidelines that include wearing tight-fitting masks or two masks at a time to help curb the disease. COVID-19 pandemic.

The updated guidelines follow the publication of new research from the CDC that tested various masks in a lab and found evidence that combining a fabric mask over a surgical mask could significantly reduce both the spread of the virus to others and exposure to the virus yourself.

The new CDC recommendations advise Americans to choose masks with a nasal thread that can be adjusted for a tight fit, and to use a mask adjuster or brace to better seal their masks. The CDC also recommends wearing a multi-layered mask for added protection, or overlaying a fabric mask over a disposable medical mask.

For a better fit, he recommends tying the earrings on the disposable mask, then tucking in and flattening the extra material on the sides.

The CDC says it doesn’t recommend wearing two disposable masks at a time. And that says there is no need to overlay another mask with a KN95 mask, the commonly used alternative to the professional grade N95 masks used by healthcare workers 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 one. But they do provide new information on why wearing a properly fitted mask is so important, “CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a COVID-19 White House briefing.

For the new study, CDC researchers tested combinations of multi-layered fabric and common surgical or medical masks in a lab, simulating breathing and coughing between pairs of mannequins.

When only a disposable mask was worn, only 42% of the cough droplets were blocked in the experiment. The combination of the disposable mask with a fabric mask on the top blocked 92.5% of the particles expelled from the cough.

The combination of the two masks also reduced the wearer’s “cumulative exposure” by 83% of droplets released from an unmasked source, according to the study. This number rose to 96.4% if both mannequins were equipped with double masks.

“The data in this report underscores the conclusion that a good fit can increase the overall effectiveness of the mask. Several simple ways to improve fit have been shown to be effective, ”the researchers wrote.

The new research comes after months of advocacy from CDC supporters to update its guidelines to include the recommendation to wear two masks, after further studies and anecdotal evidence suggested the move could curb the spread of the virus. Senior agency officials had refused to change their official recommendations until this new research was completed, though many – from President Biden to Dr Anthony Fauci – had previously been spotted wearing two masks.

In other countries, a handful of health authorities have ordered citizens to move away from sheet masks altogether in favor of high-filtration, single-use masks. The German government imposed “medical masks”, such as surgical masks or KN95, on public transport and shops last month.

CDC announcement comes amid fears of a potential increase in new cases from more infectious ones virus variants in circulation in the USA. 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 by March.

“We must not despair of this because there are things we can do to prevent this. It is not beyond our power to do this,” Dr Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden said on Wednesday. for the response to the pandemic.

Contact tracing of some earlier cases of variants of the virus in the United States revealed that its spread was fueled by people simply not wearing masks and holding in-person meetings, the CDC said.

“The two things we can do are some of the things Dr Walensky just mentioned: burn masks, avoid meeting places, keep your distance and wash your hands when the vaccine becomes available to you, to get the vaccine. please, “Dr Fauci said.