I remember it as saying they won’t be perfect and won’t help enough, and also that people in critical positions (Healthcare specifically) needed them and the supply was limited. I don’t think I ever heard from an official source that they wouldn’t help, but I’ve heard many people say they said that.
Here is an overview of how the government’s recommendations changed over time. They were explicitly advising against wearing face masks and saying they don’t work. Ex:
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tweets that wearing a face mask will not prevent the public from contracting the novel coronavirus.
“Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” he wrote in a tweet that was later deleted. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus
I remember it as saying they won’t be perfect and won’t help enough, and also that people in critical positions (Healthcare specifically) needed them and the supply was limited. I don’t think I ever heard from an official source that they wouldn’t help, but I’ve heard many people say they said that.
Here is an overview of how the government’s recommendations changed over time. They were explicitly advising against wearing face masks and saying they don’t work. Ex: