New York returns to mandate for indoor masks 3:46
(CNN) -
As the highly contagious variant of the omicron coronavirus continues to spread, some experts say it's time to rethink your mask options, especially if you're still wearing the fabric variety.
"Cloth masks are little more than face decorations. There is no place for them in omicron light," said Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst and visiting professor of health policy and administration at the Institute School. Milken of George Washington University.
"This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact," Wen added in a separate telephone interview.
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"We need to wear at least a three-layer surgical mask," he said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found in most drug stores and in some supermarkets and retail stores.
"You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but don't just wear a cloth mask."
Ideally, in crowded places, "you should wear a KN95 or N95 mask," which can be as inexpensive as a few dollars each, Wen added.
By having a better fit and certain materials, such as polypropylene fibers, that act as mechanical and electrostatic barriers, these masks prevent tiny particles from entering the nose or mouth and must conform to the face to function properly.
New York returns to mandate for indoor masks 3:46
Changes to the guidelines
During the first months of the pandemic, health experts discouraged the general public from purchasing N95 masks, as medical professionals faced a shortage of personal protective equipment.
But it has been "many months since the supply of N95 was a problem," Wen said.
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However, the most recent guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the proper selection, use, cleaning, and storage of face masks recommended that people avoid N95 masks and in their Instead they chose masks with two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric, something Wen calls "a big mistake."
"If we're going to go so far as to say that masks are required, when we don't come from a mask-wearing culture and people don't like to wear masks, they at least recommend that they wear the most effective masks," Wen said.
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Other countries, including Germany and Austria, "changed their standard to say that a face covering that must be worn in public must be at least a medical-grade surgical mask" in certain settings, he added.
CNN asked the CDC for comment on their recommendations regarding N95s and cloth masks and is still awaiting their response.
Another factor driving the change in mask recommendations is a better understanding of COVID-19 and how it spreads, said Erin Bromage, associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. "People take longer to appreciate the nature of airborne infections, which is not necessarily a hybrid infection, for example with influenza, where it can be spread by droplets, inhaled a little, on surfaces and infect from that way". "He said." It seems that ... the main driver of the (coronavirus) infection is shared air. "
Cloth masks, encouraged early in the pandemic, can filter large droplets, while the more effective ones, such as N95s, can filter both large droplets and smaller aerosols or potentially virus-laden particles in the air if people are present. infected, Bromage said.
A cloth facepiece also has 75% inward and outward leakage, which is defined by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists as the "percentage of particles entering the facepiece" and the "percentage of particles exhaled by a source. coming out of the mask ", respectively.
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Properly fitted N95 respirators approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health can filter up to 95% of airborne particulates, according to the CDC.
Surgical or disposable masks are about 5% to 10% less effective than N95 respirators, Bromage said, depending on its classification from ASTM International, which has types 1, 2 and 3 to classify only surgical masks under to more effective.
The reason the omicron variant has been so successful in rapidly infecting many people is "unknown at this time," but it only underscores the role that quality masks can play, Bromage said.
"If less virus is needed, or if a person who is infected is shedding more virus, then the role of a mask in this is if we can reduce the amount that you are actually breathing, you will get more time," he added.
"If you needed 1,000 viral particles to get infected and you are using something that reduces 50% of things, now it will take twice as long to get to that 1,000. If you use one that is 90% efficient, it will take at least 10 times longer. before you get infected when you are around someone (who is infected). "
"We need to promote better, high-quality masks everywhere, because at this time a single-layer fabric mask is not enough against omicron," said former US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams.
Change your fabric masks
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has a list of approved N95 respirators, which can be found at some home improvement stores, retailers, and pharmacies.
These masks should be cup-shaped, flat-pleated, or duck-billed;
two straps around your head;
an adjustable wire nose bridge;
and the appropriate markings that indicate NIOSH approval, says the CDC.
The agency also has resources to determine if an N95 respirator is a fake and how to put it on, take it off, and perform a respirator seal check correctly.
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The difference between the N95 and KN95 respirators is where the mask has been certified, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
The United States certifies the N95s, while China approves the KN95s.
Approximately 60% of KN95 respirators in the US are counterfeit and do not meet NIOSH requirements, according to the CDC.
The CDC has a list of signs that a KN95 respirator has not been NIOSH approved.
"If they're made to the standard and certified by the appropriate boards in your country like NIOSH here, they all do basically the same thing," Bromage said.
"But there are a lot of knockoffs that are not certified on the KN95 side of things, that may meet the standards but are not certified to meet it. And there are others that clearly don't."
These experts' recommendation to use better masks is not a suggestion to throw away cloth masks or "not have masks" when you don't have a medical grade mask available.
In studies of various face masks, high-thread count, multi-layer fabric masks "have shown superior performance compared to individual lower-thread count fabric layers," but are still less effective than high-thread count masks. medical, according to the CDC.
Wearing a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask, as Wen suggested, can better protect you and others by improving fit and therefore filtration ability, says the CDC.
"If all you have is a cloth mask, it's better than nothing," Wen said.
"But you are not well protected, and you should know that you are not well protected. So if you go to a crowded indoor place and all you have is a cloth mask, don't go."
If you can't buy medical-grade masks for whatever reason, go to places that require masks and give them away for free, like some train stations, grocery stores or businesses, and ask for a surgical mask, Wen suggested.
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