By: Angela Dimaano, Features Editor
As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, there is a multitude of research being conducted on the effectiveness of masks and whether double masking is beneficial or not. As the name implies, double masking includes wearing two or more face masks in order to provide more layers of protection between you and the virus. In a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), double masking (with a cloth and medical face mask) is shown to be up to 30% more effective than a singular surgical or cloth mask.
From the start, the advantages of wearing masks has been heavily debated. The CDC had initially reported that masks were not effective in mitigating the spread of the virus, but as more research was conducted, masks were found to be successful in slowing the spread of the virus. Current research, originating from medical organizations such as UCSF, states that masks are said to reduce the spread of the virus from one infected person to another healthy person through bodily particles. Research was continued after the findings of mask effectiveness, and on February 10th, 2021, the CDC released a report on experiments testing the efficiency of different masking techniques. One experiment tested the layering of masks, while another tested facial fit of masks to overall effectiveness. The CDC found that a standard medical mask blocked 56.1% of particles from a simulated cough and a standard cloth mask blocked 51.4% cough particles. Testing for the effectiveness of double masking, a medical and cloth mask were layered on top of each other, generating a blocking of 85.4% of particles. Looping the strings of a mask and tucking the mask was another method that was tested. Compared to the 56.1% from wearing a medical mask normally, a tucked and knotted medical mask blocked up to 77% of particles (more than 20% increase in effectiveness). From these experiments, the CDC concluded double masking and mask tightening to maximize mask performance.
From the start, the entire issue of mask wearing has always been started by those who refuse to wear masks and those who comply with mask mandates. Even with these new findings on the effectiveness of double masking, those who already believe in the effectiveness of masks are more likely to accept the notion. Some non-believers already find masks to be restricting, contributing to a loss of breath or an unproven increase in inhalation of carbon dioxide. Though having multiple layers of protection is arguably common sense, there is no doubt that these mask deniers will rebel equally as much as they did towards one mask.
For the sake of getting our world and country out of the pandemic, people need to begin following the CDC’s up to date guidance on how we should be wearing our masks. New research can easily overturn anything we know about the virus, calling for the public to be understanding rather than abiding by personal feelings. By adding the small inconvenience of another piece of material on our faces, the public will be able to slow the spread of the virus, allowing a swiffer return to normalcy.
