“Knotting and tucking” or using a mask-fitter results in big improvements to the effectiveness of existing masks.
The more contagious COVID variant first found in the U.K. is now doubling in prevalence roughly every 10 days in the U.S. At the current pace of vaccination, some people won’t get shots until the end of the year. The collision of the growing strain and our slow vaccination rate is one reason masks are such an important tool now. But with N95 masks still in short supply, the CDC now says that layering two masks can offer similar protection. But it’s not the only solution: just making a surgical mask fit better can also help.