An Idaho doctor recently said that wearing two masks can help protect you against the novel coronavirus, which might be more necessary with new COVID-19 variants on the way.
What’s going on?
Dr. Laura McGeorge, the system service line medical director for primary and specialty care at St. Luke’s in Boise, Idaho, told KTVB that wearing two masks may be more effective than one.
She said that surgical masks offer 80% protection. A surgical mask underneath a fabric mask would offer 90% protection, she said.
- “This provides additional protection against the virus and that additional mask actually helps your first mask fit more snuggly,” she said. “One of the other things you could do, there are some fabric masks that have a place to put a filter and in that spot, you can cut a piece of vacuum filter and that can also be highly effective.”
McGeorge told KTVB that using multiple masks can create an obstacle course for the virus.
- “Think of a slice of Swiss cheese. If you were to be able to put that slice of Swiss cheese in front of your face to block the virus, there are going to be holes in that where the virus could get through,” McGeorge explained. “If you take a separate slice of Swiss cheese and put it in front, it is likely that you’re not going to have any holes that line up and that’s when you have additional protection in blocking the virus.”
Dr. Fauci says something similar
Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC News’ “Today” show on Monday that double-masking “likely does” protect people more from the novel coronavirus, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
- “So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci told the “Today” show. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”
Neysa Ernst from Johns Hopkins University told Fox News that there could be psychological benefits to wearing double masks, since it would make people feel more comfortable with confronting the virus.
- “In this pandemic psychological safety is important, it provides a sense of control in an unknown environment,” Ernst wrote.