Does the CDC say bandanas are okay as Covid face-coverings?

December 22, 2021 10:30 AM

I go to a particular gathering where everyone must be masked, but a few people wear bandanas instead of legit masks. The organizers of the gathering say "We can't ask them to wear a mask because the CDC says bandanas are okay." Is this true? Can anybody point me to actual, legit government guidance on this? We're in Los Angeles if it makes a difference.
posted by BlahLaLa to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

Best answer: This is the CDC guide to masks. Not sure where they're getting "bandanas are okay" from since everything here seems to suggest a bandana will not be effective.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:35 AM on December 22, 2021 [5 favorites]

full updated guide here: https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/mask-up-how-to-choose-and-maintain-the-best-masks-for-use-against-covid-19/#h1
posted by evilmonk at 10:35 AM on December 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

One study showed that bandanas are actually worse than no mask at all.
posted by FencingGal at 10:38 AM on December 22, 2021 [5 favorites]

Best answer: LA County's COVID-19 Masks page lists bandanas as "less effective" and "not recommended".
posted by meowzilla at 11:08 AM on December 22, 2021 [2 favorites]

The organizers can ask for anything they want. They could ask everyone to rapid test immediately before attending. (Not saying they should, but they could) They could require proof of vaccination, at least in most states. They are instead choosing to let malicious compliance assholes dictate their policy.

(I'm not entirely against some malicious compliance in service of a principle or cause, but it's still a dick move, even if it is in service of something noble. Sometimes you gotta be a dick in an effort to change things. This is not that.)
posted by wierdo at 11:14 AM on December 22, 2021 [11 favorites]

The organizers could ask for anything, including "wear a full bunny suit and communicate in sign language only," there's no law that says they have to accept anything the CDC accepts.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:17 AM on December 22, 2021 [12 favorites]

There are numerous businesses & venues with face mask requirements that consider bandanas and neck gaiters unacceptable. Even in Florida!
posted by zombiedance at 11:26 AM on December 22, 2021

I'd actually say that that LA County Public Health page is defining "masks" as relates to their mandate and categorizing bandanas as a separate thing. Similarly, the CDC page they link doesn't even entertain the idea of bandanas.
posted by teremala at 11:33 AM on December 22, 2021

Are they using literal bandanas, or stretch fabric neck "gaiters?" (The above-mentioned CDC site does mention gaiters as a special case, apparently approving of them.)

Seems like a true bandana would operate essentially like a plastic shield, since the air gaps between the face and the fabric would be huge. (As such, it would only deflect exhaled particles and filter almost nothing.)
posted by theorique at 11:51 AM on December 22, 2021

At the very beginning of the pandemic when PPE was in short supply, the CDC did say in its guidance for healthcare workers that in the absence of a better option a bandana was better than nothing. Maybe that's what they're referencing?
posted by jesourie at 12:14 PM on December 22, 2021

Yeah, in April of 2020, when PPE was in short supply, then Surgeon General Jerome Adams made a video showing us all how to fold a mask out of a cloth napkin or bandana. I remember wearing folded napkin masks for the first couple weeks of covid. But guidance on this has moved on.

I get why groups don't want to be overly picky about types of masks required, given the bafflingly continued resistance to masking by so many, but I think it's fair to push back against bandanas.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:25 PM on December 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

Don't know if this helps since I assume you mean specifically American government guidance, but various countries (and international airlines) banned cloth masks in public areas a long time ago.

In general the CDC has been extremely conservative and slow in its recommendations, and they seem to be influenced not only by science but also by psychological and political factors. (See, for example, how other countries have closed borders, imposed lockdowns, or advised against unnecessary travel because of omicron, while that's extremely unlikely in the US - not because it wouldn't be sound public health policy, but because the population is so incredibly polarized on the issue.)
posted by trig at 1:25 PM on December 22, 2021

(I think the group should do 2 things: require good masks, and also buy some good ones and distribute them to people who show up without. You're in LA - I'd get some KF94s for around $1-1.50 each from here.)
posted by trig at 1:29 PM on December 22, 2021 [2 favorites]

They may be thinking of the US federal order requiring that masks or face coverings be worn on public transit, described here and in many, many public service signs/announcements on trains/buses/etc.

The transit police can't force you out of a train station for wearing a bandana, or for a variety of other ways of being inconsiderate/gross. This does not in any way require organizers of other gatherings to abide by their standards.
posted by All Might Be Well at 1:33 PM on December 22, 2021

One more - only quasi-government, but here are LAX's (pretty lax) mask guidelines, which specifically prohibit bandannas. (On preview, that's pretty much the same as the order that All Might Be Well linked, which also prohibits "Scarves, ski masks, balaclavas, or bandannas".)
posted by trig at 1:36 PM on December 22, 2021

Response by poster: So the miscreants I'm talking about are 3 or 4 people (assholes, actually!) who between them sometimes wear legit bandanas and sometimes wear a buff-type thing that's pulled up over their nose. I hate all of these options, but the bandanas are obviously worse than the buffs.

But what I'm gathering from these links you guys have shared is there's no specific "Bandanas do not count" type of guidance anywhere outside of the airlines, which blows. "Bandanas are less effective" won't work with the leaders of this gathering.

(And yes I'm being sane about factoring my own issues when I decide how much I want to participate with these people. The sad thing is that I do want to keep participating!)
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:49 PM on December 22, 2021 [2 favorites]

Well, even when the CDC doesn't outright say "no bandannas", it does describe the types of masks you should and shouldn't wear. For example, this page says

Wear cloth masks with

- A proper fit over your nose and mouth to prevent leaks
- Multiple layers of tightly woven, breathable fabric
- Nose wire
- Fabric that blocks light when held up to bright light source

Do NOT wear cloth masks with

- Gaps around the sides of the face or nose
- Exhalation valves, vents, or other openings (see example)
- Single-layer fabric or those made of thin fabric that don’t block light

This page says:

DO choose masks that
- Have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric
- Completely cover your nose and mouth
- Fit snugly against the sides of your face and don’t have gaps
- Have a nose wire to prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask

and, elsewhere,

Do wear a mask that
- Covers your nose and mouth and can be secured under your chin.
- Fits snugly against the sides of your face.

I mean, it doesn't sound like these guys care, but bandannas fail several of those criteria unless they're made of very tightly-woven fabric, folded over, worn very tightly around the face with no gaps, have a nose wire, and are secured under the chin. The last two seem the most unlikely.

Also, the LAX guidelines I linked aren't from the airlines - they're from LAX itself. Not sure if it counts as governmental enough, but it might?
posted by trig at 4:01 PM on December 22, 2021 [1 favorite]

From LA County Public Health:

Bandanas and scarves are not recommended (unless you wear a mask underneath).

And elsewhere:

Good cloth masks have:

- Two layers of tightly woven cotton with a third layer of non-woven fabric. The third layer could be a mask filter insert or a synthetic fabric such as polypropylene.
- Nose wires to reduce gaps from the nose.
- Adjustable ear loops or straps that go around the head to reduce gaps from the face.

Cloth masks without these features should not be used in higher risk situations if other options are available. Examples of less effective face coverings are two-layer cotton masks, bandanas, and gaiters.

Emphasis mine. Supply good masks so alternatives are available.
posted by trig at 4:07 PM on December 22, 2021

Last one - this page from the California Dept. of Public Health is similar to the above but slightly stricter.
posted by trig at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2021

Response by poster: I'm marking this resolved even though I didn't get what I wanted out of it. The guidelines that simply say bandanas are "less effective" or "not recommended" aren't what I needed, alas. The organizers have taken the standing that they follow CDC guidance, and the CDC doesn't say no so they're allowing it. UGH.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:12 PM on December 26, 2021