The Centers for Disease Control are considering recommending that people wear N95 and KN95 masks. These masks offer the greatest protection against the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
And the good news is, they last longer than you’d think.
Dr. Jack Caravanos from NYU’s School of Public Health says an N95 mask can work for about five days to a week without replacing or disinfecting it.
Caravanos suggests steaming it in hot water for a few seconds to disinfect it.
An KN95-95 mask can also been worn for five consecutive days. It can then be cleaned in the same way.
These popular surgical masks last only one day. They should be thrown away immediately if they become wet or dirty.
At Tuesday’s Senate hearing, Dr. Anthony Fauci wore a KN95 face mask, while Dr. Rochelle Walensky and other CDC directors chose to double-mask using a cloth mask instead of a KN95.
“What the cloth mask does is add another layer of protection, but it also holds the surgical mask in place. And you can see this is a much better fit,” Caravanos said.
You can test your N95/KN95 mask by comparing it to a cloth one. It will not drip out and hold water.
According to the CDC, 60% of all imported masks are counterfeit.