expressing what is happening. the washington post is reporting the cdc is considering updating their mask guidance to suggests that everybody use n 95 or kn 95 masks and just a few days ago they said cloth masks were still fine. so what is going on? this one is a kn 95. i think the n 95 i have is tougher to breathe in. what is going on here? if you can wear a kn 95 or n 95, if you can get it, it is absolutely the best protection. no question about it. nobody disputes that. the cdc doesn t dispute that. they hopefully will update guidance. every test that s been done shows this is what to wear. cloth masks are not enough in the case of omicron so don t bother wearing them. surgical masks will sometimes do but not as good as n 95s but we need to make the clear and the cdc will reinforce the fact we
not just filtering particles, it s attracting particles like a blanket might attract your socks in the dryer. it works well not just for air potentially coming in but also for air potentially going out. one key thing about the n95 masks is you ve got to make sure they actually fit really well. having these two bands around the back of your head, then making sure no air is escaping around your eyes or cheeks or chin. studies have shown that cloth masks can have about 75% leakage. a surgical mask, 50%. but with an n95, it can go down to as low as 1%. even with the cdc s updated mask guidance, there is still no explicit recommendation to wearing an n95. however, on thursday, president joe biden announced a step in the right direction. next week we ll announce how we are making high-quality masks available to the american people
we re following breaking pandemic news right now. new mask guidance just released from the centers for disease control and prevention, as nearly 800,000 cases on average of the omicron variant. let s go to dr. leana wen. what do you make of the guidance from the cdc encouraging americans to upgrade their masks for better protection to the n-95 or kn-95? i strongly agree, but i wish it had come out sooner. we have known for a year that covid is airborne, and mask quality matters. at least wear a surgical mask with a cloth mask on top of that. just a single layer of cloth
no blisters. that is worth the price. i will take captioning sponsored by cbs o donnell: tonight, the major winter storm moving across the u.s., bringing heavy snow, dangerous cold, and freezing rain to more than 80 million americans. near with-whiteout conditions across the emergency preparations along the east coast as airlines warn of flight cancellations throughout the m.l.k. holiday weekend. tonight, where the fast-moving storm is heading as states of emergency are declared ahead of the snow. breaking news: new mask guidance from the c.d.c. what face covering provides the most protection from covid? plus, as the government announces how to get a free rapid test, we re inside a factory producing them. russrussia s sabotage: the new .
the vaccination mandate took a hit this week, in supreme court, . the president was frustrated when we heard from him. they recognize that some of this is out of their control, but this is how you will be judged. the president says that the and almost all of the pandemic jonathan, i hope you get to sleep. in carroll, melissa, thank you all so much. coming up, now what? what can washington get done. our political experts are here to hash out with the democrats should do now, that s how much of the presidents plan deceivingly stuck in cartoon quicksand. later, two years into covid, as omicron washes over america, the cdc is hour timely new mask guidance. one of our top doctors is here, this is where you need to know. the 11th hour getting underway, it on a friday night. on a friday night