Double masking for Covid-19 protection: a trend with a purpose

by

Public health officials suggest double masking as a way to increase the level of protection against the coronavirus and its multiple, more contagious variants.

“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. , “Dr. Anthony Fauci, now chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been doubling down for weeks – in fact, Biden was often seen wearing a surgical mask under his usual black cloth covering before being sworn in.

On the inauguration day, Pete Buttigieg, nominated for transportation secretary, and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, took a double selfie mask, and inaugural poet Amanda Gorman wore a surgical mask under her Prada version.

Amanda Gorman, laureate of the national youth poet, arrived at the inauguration wearing a double mask.

The Republican American sens. Mitch Romney and Marco Rubio were seen wearing double masks on Capitol Hill in mid-December.

Low on protection

A single-layer mask is not really effective at blocking aerosols, studies show, and even homemade two- and three-layer cloth masks are only partially protective – anywhere from 50% to 60% of the effectiveness.

Surgical masks, also called medical grade masks, are made of three layers of non-woven fabric, usually made of plastic. The colored top layer of the fabric is made from spunbond medical grade polypropylene, a resin polymer that is heat bonded into a web-like structure.

A 2020 study found that surgical masks were about 50% effective at protecting the wearer from other people’s aerosols and between 60% and 70% effective at protecting others.
Covid-19 Masks: Which Mask is Best for You and When to Use It
But put a surgical mask under a cloth mask and you get “over 91% particle removal efficiency,” said Joseph Allen, associate professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the director of the school’s Healthy Buildings program. in a recent interview.
In mid-December, Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech who is a leading expert in aerosol virus transmission, and Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine at UCSF / San Francisco General Hospital, commenting on double masking,

“For maximum protection,” Marr and Gandhi suggested that the public “could wear a cloth mask tightly on a surgical mask, with the surgical mask acting as a filter and the cloth mask providing an extra layer of filtration while improving the fit.” “

A second option, they said, could be to wear a three-layer mask made from a flexible, tightly woven fabric that conforms to the face, with an insert made of a ‘high efficiency non-woven filter material’. like a vacuum bag.

Dos and don'ts before and after your injection of Covid vaccine
The best face covers for protection are, of course, the type N95 respiratory masks, made of fibers woven with an electrical charge that can trap stray particles, much like a sock that sticks to a blanket in the dryer. Comparable products include the Chinese KN95, the European FFP1 and FFP2 versions, the Australia-New Zealand P2, the Korean 1st Class and the Japanese DS2.
“Consider upgrading from a cloth mask to a surgical mask, or from a surgical mask to a N95 / KN95 / equivalent, if available. Better masks can help reduce the risk of more contagious strains,” said the former US director. Centers for Disease and Control, Dr. Tom Friedan tweeted Monday.

But the CDC does not currently recommend N95 masks to the general public, in part because of a shortage of masks for health professionals, and also because of concerns that people will tolerate the masks, which could hinder breathing.

“I’m concerned that if we suggest or require people to wear N95s, they won’t always be wearing them,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new head of the CDC, to CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in a city. hall Wednesday.

“They are very difficult to breathe in if you wear them properly,” Walensky said. “They are very difficult to tolerate if you wear them for a long time.”

Correct wear and care of your mask

Whatever mask you wear, make sure you do it correctly, even during double masking. No uncovered noses are allowed. Both masks should go over the bridge of the nose, under the chin, and lie flat on the face, along the skin, experts say.

When choosing your fabric mask, studies show that you should look for a tight weave. Use the light test to check the fabric: if you can easily see the outline of the individual fibers when you hold the mask up to the light, it is probably not effective.

And make sure you clean and dispose of your masks properly. Surgical masks are single use only, and if they are dirty or breathing becomes difficult, the mask should be carefully disposed of and replaced, the FDA said.

The CDC recommends keeping dirty fabric masks in sealed plastic bags until you can wash them.

“Wash wet or dirty masks as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming moldy. Wet masks are difficult to breathe through and are less effective than dry masks,” the CDC says.

Dry your mask completely in a warm or hot dryer, the CDC says, or by hanging it “in direct sunlight to dry completely. If you can’t hang it in direct sunlight, hang or lay it flat and let it dry. dry it completely. “

.Source