As the White House debates sending out high quality respirator face masks to all Americans, I wonder if we should applaud the move or question why it’s taken so long?
Lest we forget, guidance on mask wearing has changed a lot over the last two years. I am not at all hostile to infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci – he’s been cast in a difficult role, that of our counselor-in-chief but also defender of an imperfect science – but you may recall that he not only advised against buying the scarce N95 masks early in the pandemic, he also argued that cloth masks weren’t very good at protecting the wearer from contracting the virus.
Sounds incredible in retrospect, but the record is clear: "Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection,” he wrote in an email to another infectious diseases expert in February 2020. "The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you."
And, in March of that year, he told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that unless a person was infected or caring for someone who was infected there was no point in wearing a mask. “There's no reason to be walking around with a mask," he said. (See full notes here).
Yet guidance changed in the spring of 2020. Some of you may recall seeing former Surgeon General Jerome Adams showing Americans how to make their own wearable cloth face masks; if not, here is a video clip. The context of all this was the continuing debate on whether the SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) could be transmitted only via “droplets” or via much finer “aerosols.”
By September 2020 we saw former CDC director Robert Redfield calling masks “the most powerful, public health tool we have.” (This was before vaccines were available, of course.) After Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021 he quickly issued an “executive order” making mask wearing mandatory in airports and on many airplanes, as well as on intercity buses and on trains. You can read a more detailed chronology of events up to this point here. Masks were definitely in.
Then, in March of 2021, people who had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus were being told that they could gather in small groups indoors without masks or social distancing, and that they could enjoy mask-free dinners with vaccinated friends. In April the CDC eased recommendations further, suggesting that vaccinated Americans could go maskless outdoors all the time, and in May that they could go maskless in many indoor settings, as well.
Easing restrictions, but at the same time, recommending double masking! Here’s a link to a CDC site from April 2021; you decide if there are just too many do’s and don’ts here.
Now, here comes Jerome Adams again. He was widely quoted in July of 2021 saying that relaxing the mask requirements so much was “premature” and “wrong,” particularly as this was done on the cusp of the dangerous Delta variant wave. He also apologized for being so wrong about masks early in the pandemic. See a report here.
Now, in January 2022, the CDC is heavily promoting N95 and KN95 masks while publicly acknowledging that the most other masks aren’t very good (what Anthony Fauci originally said, then backtracked on). "Loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection, and well-fitting National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety-approved respirators (N95s) offer the highest level of protection," the CDC said. (See full story here.)
So, it took nearly two years for the government to figure this out? We understand the de facto rationing of quality masks early in the pandemic but the delay in encouraging their wider use is inexcusable because N95 masks became more widely available at least by last spring, when I bought a pack – legally – off of Amazon. I first checked an FDA site that listed counterfeit brands as well as the true, NIOSH-certified N95s. Besides the better filtration, these masks fit better because they typically have two elastic bands that go behind the neck and head to stay in place.
The masks I purchased were not made in the USA, however. I don’t mean this in any nationalistic or chauvinistic way. Yet I was stunned to learn that the Defense Production Act, which was used during in 2020 to build much-need ventilators for hospital use, still has not been invoked for face masks! See story here.
Why did it take so long, indeed?
You know, almost all the old advice to wear cloth masks was beside the point anyway because almost no one wore these masks properly, whether in stores or on the street. I say this even while assuming that the government at one point wanted everyone to wear a mask because we just couldn’t trust people to be honest about whether they were infectious or not. Nonetheless, we have all seen countless people wear them below their noses or even on their chins, and the ear loops they invariably have simply don’t hold the masks tightly against the face. So-called “surgical” masks, the relatively cheap disposable blue masks one often sees, are not really ergonomic and also are not tight-fitting because of the ear loops. (Hint: your eyeglasses would never fog up if the masks were really tight-fitting.) Furthermore, most of the “surgical” masks people have been purchasing aren’t medical grade – just read the box or package insert and the disclaimer will be right there.
The kicker: I volunteer at USO at Reagan National Airport while temporarily living in Arlington, Virginia so I can be close to family, and I’ve only been wearing a true N95 mask. I’m fully vaccinated and boosted, as well, yet I came down with Covid-19 ten days ago, so it’s fair to say nothing is a guarantee of safety from this monster. Nonetheless, it’s all a question of improving the odds in your favor, and deciding what risks you’re willing to take …
As well as helping save other people by wearing a quality mask properly, and hoping other people care as much about your wellbeing as you care about theirs.
I’m so sorry to hear you contracted COVID-19. My sister is a nurse and went to a neighbor’s home to help the elderly woman who had fallen, and even though masked up, she contracted COVID from that neighbor.
I’m a teacher and have not given up on my mask, even though our corporation does not require masking, unless ill per CDC recommendations. I mask to hopefully not bring anything home to my husband who is lung compromised. So far, so good, knock-on-wood.
They say we will all “catch” this visit at some point, but vaccinated and boosted should keep us out of the hospital. Praying they are right.