The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conceded Friday that cloth masks are less effective than surgical or respirator masks as protection against COVID-19. But the CDC didn’t go so far as to say cloth masks are inadequate against this strain of the virus ― something some public health experts say is apparent given the transmission rates. It’s a shift from earlier in the pandemic when the CDC, concerned about a scarcity of protective equipment, urged people to spare such respirator masks for health care workers. AdvertisementSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is spearheading an effort to send every American three free N95 masks in light of that data. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is co-sponsoring the House version of the bill, made a similar appeal for the legislation, which would appropriate $5 billion for the domestic manufacturing, procurement and distribution of N95 masks.

Source: Huffington Post January 15, 2022 01:49 UTC