The CDC is considering recommending that Americans wear higher quality masks amid the spike in omicron cases.
“The agency is currently actively looking to update its recommendations for KN95 and N95 in light of omicron,” a CDC official told the Washington Post, per The Hill. “We know these masks provide better filtration.”
But, since higher quality masks are known to be uncomfortable, the CDC would say in the new guidance that if a person can “tolerate wearing a KN95 or N95 mask all day, [they] should.”
At the onset of the pandemic, the CDC was wary of recommending people wear KN95 or N95 masks over concerns about shortages of them for healthcare workers.
