N95, KN95 Masks Provide Best Protection Against Covid, CDC Study Shows

Wearing any kind of mask indoors is associated with significantly better protection from the coronavirus, with high-quality N95 and KN95 masks providing the best chance of avoiding infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

In indoor public settings, surgical masks reduce the chances of testing positive by 66 percent, the CDC estimated. Top-of-the-line N95 and KN95 masks, the tight-fitting face coverings often worn by health-care workers, cut the odds of infection by 83 percent, the health agency said.

Wearing a cloth mask appeared to lower the odds of testing positive by 56 percent, but the findings were not statistically significant.

“These data from real-world settings reinforce the importance of consistently wearing face masks or respirators to reduce the risk of acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the general public in indoor community settings,” the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Mask-wearing has been a flash point for conflict from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic, when health officials told the public not to buy masks, which they said at the time should be conserved for medical professionals. The government soon reversed course on masking against the airborne virus and urged everyone to wear face coverings.

Arguments over whether to mandate mask-wearing, who has the authority to order it and under what circumstances have endured to this day.

“There are still people who say masks don’t work,” said Linsey C. Marr, an expert on airborne virus transmission at Virginia Tech who was not involved in the new research. She said the CDC report bolsters the well-known value of mask-wearing by providing additional real-world data.

Similarly, Jose-Luis Jimenez, a professor of chemistry at the University of Colorado who did not take part in the study, said in an email that it “adds more evidence to what we already know: this is mainly an airborne virus, and for that reason we have an indoor pandemic. Wearing masks indoors reduces transmission, with the protective effect increasing for better mask quality and fit.”

“What this shows is if you pay attention and wear a good mask and wear it all the time, you have a significantly lower risk of testing positive for covid-19,” Marr said.

Excerpted from “N95, KN95 Masks Provide Best Protection Against Covid, CDC Study Shows” in the Washington Post. Read the full article online.

Source: The Washington Post | N95, KN95 Masks Provide Best Protection Against Covid, CDC Study Shows, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/04/covid-mask-effective-n95 | © 1996-2022 The Washington Post

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