An explanation for those not following: this is HICPAC, which advises the CDC on infection control policies. They’re trying to update a 2007 document on preventing transmission of infectious agents in healthcare settings, which will direct infection control practices across the US. One of the things they were going to recommend was that surgical masks are equivalent to N95s, and that surgical masks should be the default PPE for healthcare workers caring for patients with respiratory viruses. They did recommend N95s for viruses like measles and tuberculosis and “pandemic phase respiratory viruses,” including Covid. But not only does this fly in the face of what we have learned about aerosol transmission of respiratory viruses during the Covid pandemic, it’s also a weakening of the 2007 guidelines, which state “respiratory protection requires the use of a respirator…” and only recommends surgical masks for blood or body fluid exposure.