New CDC guidance encourages more Americans to consider N95 masks

CDC encourages more Americans to consider N95 masks | AP News NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Friday encouraged more Americans to wear the kind of N95 or KN95 masks used by health-care workers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Those kinds of masks are considered better at filtering virus from the air. AP NEWS

Those kinds of masks are considered better at filtering virus from the air. But they previously were in short supply, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials had said they should be prioritized for health care workers.

In updated guidance posted late Friday afternoon, CDC officials removed concerns related to supply shortages and more clearly said that properly fitted N95 and KN95 masks provide the most protection.

However, agency officials noted some masks are harder to tolerate than others, and urged people to choose good-fitting masks that they will wear consistently.

The CDC has evolved its mask guidance throughout the pandemic. ...

The latest CDC guidance notes that there is a special category of “surgical N95” masks, that are specially designed for protection against blood splashes and other operating room hazards. Those are not generally available for sale to the public, and should continue to be reserved for health care workers, the agency said.