The White House said a government report urging people to consider wearing two masks to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its contagious variants is not a policy recommendation.
“This was a study. … It doesn’t issue definitive guidance on one mask versus two,” press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.
Layering masks on top of one another can reduce cumulative exposure to the virus between two people interacting by about 96%, according to a study crafted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The bottom line of that study is actually to improve the fit of the mask, and a second mask is one of several options to be able to do that,” Psaki said. “If that’s something they were to issue as official guidance, we listen to our health and medical experts.”
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky shared the findings during a White House coronavirus briefing, appealing to people to wear “a well-fitting mask” with two or more layers.
Psaki said the White House was considering “a range of options” to ensure access to masks for those who need them.
Several Biden administration experts have touted the benefits of wearing more than one mask as an improved means of protection against new highly contagious coronavirus strains, with Dr. Anthony Fauci saying in January that it “just makes common sense.”
President Biden has asked the public to wear protective masks during his first 100 days in office. During the Super Bowl, he said doing so would save as many as 50,000 lives.
