photo of: AP Photo / Rogelio V. Solis
A government study published on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, finds that wearing two masks may be better than one, to protect against coronavirus infection.
Amid concerns over new strains of COVID-19 spreading across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released additional guidelines on Wednesday and a new report on best practices for wearing masks.
According to the report, experiments conducted by the CDC showed that exposure to potentially infectious aerosols decreased by about 95% when two mannequins wore well-fitting masks, either by knotting and wearing a medical procedure mask. or putting on a cloth mask over a medical procedure. mask, also known as “double masking”.
Dr. Thomas Marcellino, Douglas County Health Officer, said there have always been strategies in mind such as double masking.
“I think what happened is that we see these variants and we see that diffusion is easier, and so we start thinking,‘ How can we deal with these? … We can do better with masks, “Marcellino said in a telephone interview with Journal-World on Wednesday.
The Journal-World spoke individually with Marcellino and Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher, an LMH Health infectious disease physician, about the double-masking strategy. The two doctors agreed that while two masks (if worn correctly) would likely increase protection, the most pressing issue was getting the general public to wear a mask properly.
“If you put two fences or two layers of chicken fence, it’s more likely to be effective than a layer of chicken fence. But if you’re just trying to avoid chickens, you just need a coat, ”Schrimsher said.
Marcellino said the current recommendation to Lawrence-Douglas County public health was that masks should have at least two layers, completely cover the nose and mouth, and fit snugly on the nose and side of the face. . He said more layers would probably provide better protection against inhaled particles.
“It’s about finding a balance, really, on how you can breathe and function and still have protection against any contaminants or viruses,” he said.
Schrimsher also said it was important for the masks to be easy to breathe. If a mask has too many layers and is difficult to breathe, people are likely to suck in air from the sides of the mask, which will defeat the purpose of wearing one, he said.
“A mask with a couple of layers will probably be more beneficial to the user than trying to stack a bunch of masks and not being able to breathe,” he said. “If we could get people to wear a mask properly, we would be in a much better place.”
Of course, if someone wants to wear two masks, this will provide extra protection as long as they fit properly, Marcellino said. People at high risk for viruses can choose to fold the mask as long as they can work safely and breathe well.
The two strategies employed in the recent CDC study: double masking, knotting, and sinking the ear loops of a medical procedure mask, were intended to create a tighter fit that would provide more protection. The double-masking strategy specifically used by the CDC experiments was to wear a disposable mask under a cloth mask. The CDC experiments did not include other combinations of masks, such as fabric on fabric, medical procedure mask on medical procedure mask, or medical procedure mask on fabric.
photo of: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
An infographic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows how wearing a well-fitting mask can help limit the spread of COVID-19.
But the updated guide to CDC masks says people should not wear two disposable masks or combine a KN95 mask with any other type of mask. Disposable medical procedure masks are not designed to fit well, according to the guide, so wearing more than one will not improve the fit.
The CDC offered no explanation as to why people should not combine a KN95 mask with another type of mask and did not answer a Journal-World question asking why. According to the CDC website, a KN95 mask is a type of filter mask that is often made in China and is similar to the N95 masks commonly used in the United States.
Marcellino and Schrimsher said N95 masks filter well on their own and wearing a second mask under an N95 mask would make the seal of an N95 mask worse. But Marcellino also said that when he wears an N95 mask, he usually wears another mask to protect it from getting dirty.
For instructions on how to knot and place earrings on a medical procedure mask to improve fit, the CDC linked a UNC Health YouTube video titled “Pro Tip to Help Your Earloop Mask in tighter shape “.
Marcellino said he thought the new attention to masks and their effectiveness had been sparked by recently detected variants of COVID-19. Schrimsher said the UK variant, which is more transmissible, would likely be the predominant strain in the United States in late March. He also said there appeared to be a pause in the COVID-19 cases reported at the time.
“It feels like calm before the storm again,” he said.
If the new variants of COVID-19 send the number of cases to Douglas County in the wrong direction and if the hospital is overwhelmed, Marcellino said the health department might have to recommend double masking.
“At this time, there is no evidence that they are widely distributed,” Marcellino said of the UK’s COVID-19 variant. The variant was identified in Kansas on February 3.
“It has the potential to be more prominent, and this is what we are trying to avoid. That’s why the use of masks is important, because we have to assume it could be here, ”Marcellino said.
Learn more from the CDC on how to make the mask fit better:
The updated CDC mask guide includes additional information on how to improve the fit of a mask in order to receive better protection.
The CDC lists two important ways to make sure a mask fits properly. First and foremost, make sure it fits snugly on your face and that there are no gaps in your nose, side, or neck that can let air escape with respiratory drops down the edges. Second, choose a multi-layered mask in order to keep your own respirators and other people’s drops out.
Here are some other CDC tips:
• Choose a mask with a nose thread.
• Use a mask or fixture.
• If the fabric mask does not have multiple layers, you can add another layer of protection by wearing a disposable mask under the fabric mask.
• Knot and put earrings in a medical mask.