Cloth masks useless, experts say in omicron messaging shift

Prominent public health officials have increasingly highlighted the limitations of cloth face masks, pushing for more effective respirator masks such as N95s as omicron engulfs the United States, a shift in messaging from earlier in the pandemic.

Officials encouraged the use of cloth masks in the spring of 2020 as a desperate measure to slow the spread of COVID-19 after previously recommending against masks and continued to boost them in the months after. Now, though, more experts are saying that the masks are not helpful.