As new cases of more contagious COVID-19 strains emerge in the US, more public health officials are voicing support for double masking or wearing two face covers at the same time to protect against COVID-19 transmission.
There are a few ways to double mask. Some experts, such as former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tom Frieden, have advised the public to upgrade from cloth masks to medical-grade masks, including N95 models, to reduce the risk of infection.
Consider upgrading from a cloth mask to a surgical mask, or from a surgical mask to an N95 / KN95 / equivalent if available. Better masks can help reduce the risk of more contagious species.
– Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) January 25, 2021
Others, such as Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, advocate laying two masks on top of each other, either using a surgical mask as the first layer covered with a cloth mask, or using two cloth masks.
“If you have physical coverage with one layer, then you put another layer on it, then it makes sense that it would probably be more effective, which is why you see people doing double masking or doing some version of an N95. , ”Said Fauci earlier.
However, The Washington Post noted that during a CNN performance, Fauci adhered to existing CDC guidelines, which do not explicitly recommend double masking. New CDC chief Rochelle Walensky added that N95s could be uncomfortable and undermine federal initiatives to promote consistent mask use.
Cloth masks gained prominence because medical-grade masks, or personal protective equipment, were in short supply at the start of the US pandemic Now that former President Trump and current President Biden had appealed to the Defense Production Act to increase the production and supply of masks, more surgical and medical masks are available.
Linsey Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, told the Post that outside of a medical-grade face mask, the public’s best bet against spreading or contracting COVID-19 is to wear a reusable cloth mask on top of a surgical mask.
“Those standard cloth masks are maybe about 50 percent effective in terms of protecting yourself,” Marr added. “Maybe that used to be good enough in combination with distance and trying to avoid being in busy indoor spaces.”