SAN DIEGO — More doctors are doubling down on double masking. Dr. Michael G. Schmidt, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina says "more is better, any barrier that you can put in place between you and the virus will protect you.”
Our nation’s top medical officials are also saying two are better than one.
"If you have a physical covering with one layer, you add another layer on it, it just makes common sense that it likely will be more effective,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Fauci endorsed double masking although the CDC has not issued official guidance on it.
Health experts stress double layering adds extra filtration, but make sure the mask fits securely.
"The fit is very important: so, you can wear a surgical mask with a tighter fitting cloth mask over it or there are masks that have a pocket in the middle of two layers of fabric, and you can put a filter in that pocket,” said Dr. Jon Lapook, CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent.
Increased concerns come with new COVID-19 variants out from South Africa to Brazil, and California’s own homegrown strain the "Cal-20-C" that researchers say is more contagious and responsible for over 40% of all infections in the Southern California. But the U.K. Covid variant has been detected in at least 28 states, and believed to be 50 to 70 percent more transmissible.
“The better way to think of it rather than being more transmissible, is that it's just a little stickier. And so if you're exposed to it, you're more likely to get infected,” said Dr. George Rutherford of UCSF.
We saw double masking becoming a fashion trend at the presidential inauguration from politician Pete Buttigieg to poet Amanda Gorman.
"If you have a layer that is 50 percent effective blocking particles, if you layer two of those on top of each other now you've blocked 75 percent of them,” said Lynsey Marr, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.
But are Californians likely to wear two masks? Some say yes in supporting the science and others say they are willing to do whatever it takes to get back to normal.
Dr. Michael G. Schmidt says even though one mask looks solid, the virus can effectively, work its way out.
“The second mask will effectively capture any of the fugitives that have leaked through the first mask,” Dr. Schmidt said.
He also recommends that people not overdo it and negatively impact their breathing ability.