The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out a tweet on Sunday, which further complicated the practice of wearing masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The tweet said, “All masks help prevent the spread of #COVID19 when worn consistently and correctly. Choose a mask with the best fit, protection, and comfort for you.”
The problem is this tweet came about a week after the CDC made a major update on its mask-wearing policy and suggested cloth masks don’t work nearly as well as previously advertised. The CDC recommended N95 and KN95 masks instead.
“Loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection, layered finely woven products offer more protection, well-fitting disposable surgical masks and KN95s offer even more protection, and well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection,” the CDC wrote.
The problem is the seemingly ever-changing, confusing advice from the CDC. Yes, wearing any type of mask is better than wearing nothing when it comes to stopping the spread of COVID-19. All masks help prevent the spread with varying efficacy depending on the type. However, to first announce that cloth masks are not very effective, followed by saying all masks help prevent the spread, does nothing to alleviate the tension or confusion on the topic.
This is in addition to the inexplicable flux of recent changes from the CDC regarding quarantine periods. They changed the quarantine and isolation period to five days, down from previous suggestions.
The CDC is supposed to contain some of the most intelligent minds in the country regarding medical advice. But, when it comes to effective communication, the organization is an unmitigated disaster. It seems, in many cases, it would be better off not saying anything than providing the updates it does. The more the CDC communicates, the more it loses whatever remaining credibility it has.
