Is It Time to Wear a Better Mask for COVID-19? We Asked the Experts

Face masks are much more than a symbol. Over the last year, we’ve learned that countries and regions that encourage or require masking seem to do better at slowing the spread of COVID-19 than places that don’t, and new evidence suggests that masking may protect both the wearer and the people around them. Many TIME readers have recently reached out with questions about masks—which kind of mask should they wear? How do they wear them correctly? Should they be double-masking? And so on. So we asked the masking experts for tips based on the latest research. Is It Time to Upgrade Your Mask? Early in the pandemic, many of us bought cloth masks to help reduce spread while reserving more effective, medical-grade masks for people at higher risk, like doctors, first responders and so on. But a year in, with increased mask production and a growing number of people vaccinated, is it time for us to upgrade our masks? Indeed, experts say the best face coverings are respirator-style masks, like N95s. These masks are approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); the “95” means the mask filters at least 95% of particles out of the air the wearer is breathing in. However, there are two main problems with N95 masks. First, respirator masks remain in short supply—even some health care facilities are still having trouble getting enough of them. Although supply has increased since the beginning of the pandemic, that’s...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news