As the coronavirus pandemic continues, more Americans report they are wearing face masks, according to a newly released survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the survey, conducted from April to June, those responding reported mask use of 78% in April, 83% in May and 89% in June.
Younger adults between the ages of 18 and 29, however, reported that they did not follow mitigation strategies as faithfully as those age 60 and above. As a result, higher levels of infection were increasingly seen in the younger age group.
Older adults were more likely to wear masks because of their increased vulnerability to COVID-19 as they were more likely to have risk factors that would lead to serious cases or death.
And while mask wearing increased over time, other mitigation factors, such as hand-washing and social distancing did not. The CDC attributed this to publicity for mask-wearing that painted over social distancing and hand-washing.
"CDC recommends multiple, concurrent mitigation behaviors to most effectively reduce the spread of COVID-19," the report said. Social media influencers and others who carry weight with younger people should be targeted to spread the word about masks, hand-washing, social distancing and other mitigating actions, the CDC recommended.