Why should you update your mask as the Omicron variant expands?

(CNN) - As the highly contagious variant of the Omicron coronavirus continues to spread, some experts say it's about time to reconsider your face mask options, especially if you're still wearing the cloth variety.

“Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There is no place for them in light of Omicron," said CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. George Washington, on CNN Newsroom on Tuesday.

“This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months in fact,” Wen added in a separate phone interview.

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"We need to wear at least a three-layer surgical mask," she said, which is also known as a disposable mask and can be found at most pharmacies and some grocery 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 cheap 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 better prevent tiny particles from entering your nose or mouth and must fit your face to work properly.

changing the orientation

During the early 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 (has been) an issue,” Wen said.

However, the most recent guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the selection, proper use, cleaning, and storage of face masks recommended people avoid N95 masks and, in Instead, choose masks with two or more layers of breathable, washable fabric, which Wen called "a major mistake."

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"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, we at least recommend that they wear the most effective mask," Wen said.

Other countries, including Germany and Austria, have "changed their standard to say that a face covering in public must be at least a medical-grade surgical mask" in certain settings, she added.

CNN has contacted the CDC about its recommendations regarding N95s and cloth masks and is still awaiting comment.

Another factor driving the change in mask recommendations is a better understanding of COVID-19 and how it spreads, said Erin Bromage, an associate professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. "People have been slower to appreciate the nature of airborne infection, that this is not necessarily a hybrid infection, say with the flu, where both can be spread by droplets, inhaled a little bit, on surfaces and get infected from that way," he said. “It seems… the main driver of (coronavirus) infection is shared air.”

Cloth masks, encouraged earlier in the pandemic, can filter large droplets, while more effective masks, such as N95s, can filter both large droplets and potentially virus-laden aerosols or smaller particles from the air if people are around. infected people present, Bromage said. A cloth face covering also has 75% inward and outward leakage, which the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists defines as the “percentage of particles entering the facepiece” and the “percentage of particles exhaled by a source coming out of the face piece”, respectively.

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Properly fitted N95 respirators that are approved by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health can filter up to 95% of airborne particles, according to the CDC. Surgical or disposable masks are 5% to 10% less effective than N95 respirators, Bromage said, depending on their ASTM International categorization, with Types 1, 2 and 3 ranking only surgical masks from least to most effective.

Bromage said the Omicron variant has been so successful in rapidly infecting many people, it's "unknown at this time" but only underscores the role quality masks can play.

"If less virus is needed, or if it's an infected person who's putting out more virus, then the role of a mask in this is that if we can reduce the amount that you're actually inhaling, you have more time," he added. “If you needed 1,000 viral particles to get infected and you're wearing something that reduces 50% of things, now it's going to take twice as long to get to those 1,000. If you carry 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 right now a single-layer cloth mask just isn't cutting it against Omicron," former US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said Thursday at the CNN's AC360. “We need more tests. We need better masking. That's how we get through this."

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Changing your cloth 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 drug stores. These masks must have a cup, flat fold, or duckbill shape; two straps that go around his head; an adjustable wire nose bridge; and appropriate markings indicating NIOSH approval, the CDC says.

The agency also has resources to determine if an N95 respirator is counterfeit, and to properly put it on, take it off, and perform a respirator seal check.

The difference between N95 and KN95 respirators is where the mask is certified, according to the Oklahoma state health department. The United States certifies N95, while China approves KN95. About 60% of KN95 respirators in the US are counterfeit and don't meet NIOSH requirements, the CDC says. The CDC has a list of signs that a KN95 respirator has not been approved by NIOSH.

"If they're made to the standard and certified by the appropriate boards in your country like NIOSH here, they all basically do the same thing," Bromage said. “But there are a lot of knockoffs that aren't certified on the KN95 side of things, that may meet the standards, but aren't certified to meet it. And there are others who clearly don't."

These experts' recommendation to wear better masks is not a suggestion to throw away your cloth masks or go “mask-free” when you don't have a medical-grade mask available.

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In studies of various face masks, cloth masks with multiple layers and higher thread counts "have shown superior performance compared to single layers of cloth with lower thread counts," but remain less effective than cloth masks. medical grade, 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 thus filtering ability, the CDC says.

"If all you have is a cloth mask, it's still better than nothing," Wen said. “But you are not well protected, and you should know that you are not well protected. And so if you go to a crowded indoor setting 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 provide them for free, such as some train stations, grocery stores or businesses, and ask for a surgical mask, Wen suggested.