Wear a mask with the best fit, protection, and comfort for you

Masks can help protect you and others from COVID-19. Learn more about different types of masks and respirators and how to get the best fit.

Layered prevention strategies — like staying up to date on vaccines and wearing masks — can help prevent severe illness and reduce the potential for strain on the healthcare system. Wear a mask with the best fit, protection, and comfort for you.

COVID-19 Community Levels are a tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data.

It is important to wear a mask or respirator when you are sick or caring for someone who is sick with COVID-19. When caring for someone who is sick with COVID-19, a respirator will provide you the best level of protection.

Some people are more likely to become very sick with COVID-19  

People at increased risk, and those who live with or visit them, should  

Children ages 2 years and older can wear masks or respirators to protect themselves and others from COVID-19.

Choose a high-quality and comfortable mask or respirator that your child can wear properly. A poorly fitting or uncomfortable mask or respirator might be worn incorrectly or removed often, and that would reduce its intended benefits.

Parents and caregivers may have questions about NIOSH-approved respirators (such as N95s), and international respirators (such as KN95s and KF94s) for children. Although respirators may be available in smaller sizes, they are typically designed to be used by adults in workplaces, and therefore may not have been tested for broad use in children.

Certain groups of people may find it difficult to wear a mask, including people of any age with certain disabilities.

Challenges may be caused by being sensitive to materials on the face, difficulty understanding the importance of mask wearing for protection, or having difficulty controlling behavior to keep the mask in place.

People with certain disabilities or their caregivers can assess whether they need to wear a mask. They should do this by considering the person’s ability to:

Wearing a high-quality mask while you travel can help protect you and others.

Learn about the latest recommendation for wearing masks during travel.

Correct and consistent care for your mask helps to provide the best protection

Disposable masks and cloth masks: Untie the strings behind your head or stretch the ear loops and fold the outside corners together.

Respirators: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you are taking off your mask to eat or drink outside of your home, you can place it somewhere safe to keep it clean, such as your pocket, purse, or paper bag. After eating, put the mask back on with the same side facing out. Be sure to wash or sanitize your hands again after taking off your mask and after putting your mask back on.

Prevent getting sick mask guide File Details: 488 KB, 1 page

Building entrance poster reminding people to wear masks. File Details: 159 KB, 1 page

To receive email updates about COVID-19, enter your email address:

We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.

Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.

Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.

Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.