Based on recent test results, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February recommended double-masking to reduce the risk of COVID-19 viral transmissions. For the record, “double-masking refers to wearing both a surgical mask and a cloth mask over the surgical mask,” says Paul Drain, MD, MPH, associate professor of global health, medicine (infectious diseases), and epidemiology at the University of Washington. He is the principal investigator of several studies into COVID-19 diagnoses. “The use of a disposable mask under a cloth mask has been shown to improve protection in a lab study, and this has been detailed on the CDC website,” Drain says. “Here the role of the cloth mask is mostly to push the surgical mask tight against the skin.”