The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its mask guidance to recommend higher-quality N95 and KN95 masks over cloth and surgical ones that many people have worn throughout the pandemic.

Cloth masks can keep 30% to 60% of particles from coming in and potentially infecting the person wearing the mask, while surgical masks offer protection against 40% to 80% of particles, Shively said.

“N95 and KN95 (masks) are going to be much better, because they fit tighter and they have filtration material that are going to keep 95%-plus particles from getting in,” said Dr. Nate Shively, an infectious disease specialist with Allegheny Health Network.

The CDC’s new recommendation comes amid a surge in covid-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant.

“We know that the omicron variant is very contagious and spreads readily, especially in indoor settings,” Shively said. “Because the virus can be in the air, we want to make sure the masks we are wearing can protect us, as well as protect others.”

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the CDC’s recommendation also comes as the supply of those masks becomes more widely available.

Earlier in the pandemic, Adalja said, experts were concerned about supply shortages that stretched resources for health care workers. Now, he said there isn’t a shortage of the masks, so it’s safer to recommend them for the public without worrying that health care workers may not have enough.

Still, Shively recommended reusing the masks to conserve supplies — and to save money, as they can be pricier than lower-quality cloth masks.

“You can actually use the same N95 or KN95 a lot longer than people think,” he said. “They are disposable masks, but the filtration material in them actually lasts a very long time.”

He suggested storing the masks in paper bags between uses. People also can rotate masks, purchasing one for every day of the week, for example.

“Any virus particles that might be on the mask would naturally die by the time you get back to it,” he said.

Shively said people should try to keep their masks dry. It’s time to throw one away once it gets dirty or if the straps become too worn to properly fit.

N95 and KN95 masks can be purchased from many reputable retailers, including Lowe’s and The Home Depot, Shively said. He said his favorite place to get masks is Project N95, a nonprofit that sells masks online.

Shively said the masks are regulated in the United States, meaning major stores — or their websites — will likely be carrying only approved N95 masks, not fakes.

“The KN95s are the ones that are a little bit more likely to be counterfeit or fake,” he said. “The KN95s are a Chinese standard, and they’re a little bit less well-regulated.”

It can be tricky to find a reliable, high-quality mask for children, Shively said. There is no N95 mask approved for kids, though some children will be able to fit into small adult options.

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For children who are too small to properly wear an N95, he suggested the KF94 mask, a Korean equivalent that comes in kids’ sizes.

Putting a poorly fitting, uncomfortable N95 mask on a child likely isn’t a good idea, because masks work best when they fit properly and are worn correctly, he said.

“If someone cannot wear an N95 or equivalent because of comfort, and wear it incorrectly, it is not very effective,” Adalja said.