Should You Double-Mask?
A key recommendation throughout the pandemic has been to wear a face mask to protect others (and yourself) from COVID-19. Experts say that strategy is even more important as new variants of the SARS CoV-2 virus circulate. But the problem is, there are tons of masks on the market now and many variations on how they are made. And many are counterfeit. So, which one should you wear? How should it fit? Should you double your masks? To get more news about
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The answer, according to Heidi Zapata, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine immunologist and infectious diseases specialist, is to keep it simple. “Basically, people need to wear a good mask and wear it correctly, over both their mouth and nose,” says Dr. Zapata. If a mask is uncomfortable, you’ll be less likely to wear it or keep it on if you do, she adds.
We talked to Dr. Zapata and other Yale Medicine infectious diseases experts to help answer the new questions that are coming up about masks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its advice on masks in early February after releasing new research that suggested virus transmission could be reduced by 96.5% when an infected person or an uninfected person wears a mask—but it must be a well-fitting one, worn properly. The CDC reached its conclusion after conducting experiments in which it simulated aerosol production from a cough and studied how those aerosols penetrated different types of masks.
New CDC guidance for improving mask use recommends a high-quality mask that fits well and has multiple layers of fabric. “This can be achieved by doubling up on masks, but that’s not necessary if you have one well-fitted quality mask,” says Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Richard Martinello, MD. (If you do double up, the CDC recommends wearing one disposable mask underneath a cloth mask, but wearing two disposable masks is not advised. The second mask should push the edges of the inner mask against the face, and the mask should fit snugly.) Material makes a difference in a mask—both the type and the amount, says Dr. Martinello. “Generally, cloth masks, especially cotton ones, are more effective than some of the synthetic materials such as acrylics,” he says. “At minimum, you want two layers, but three is generally superior to two.”
A tightly woven cotton mask with two layers of fabric and a pocket in between where you can insert a filter is another option, Dr. Martinello says. “Coffee filters have been tested and they work surprisingly well,” he says.
If your budget is tight or if you prefer to avoid vetting masks online, the CDC provides both “sew” and “no-sew” instructions for making a cloth face mask. The CDC has recommended against the use of N95 masks for nonmedical workers, saying they are still considered critical supplies that need to be reserved for health care workers and medical first responders.
But there may be other reasons not to use them. “People ask all the time if they should wear N95 respirators,” says Dr. Martinello. “While it’s very clear that they are superior in their ability to filter, we also know that they can be uncomfortable to wear and difficult to do so for prolonged periods of time. If someone is at work and they need to take their mask off because they are not comfortable, then there can be unintended consequences from that.”