The expert panel of both the CDC AND the FDA which its politically appointed director overruled.
I don't ever just follow a bureaucratic organization's recommendations without the evidence to back it up...because they are SO political these days.
Masks are a waste of time in the general public setting because they don't use them correctly, they reuse them, they touch their faces which is more counterproductive than not wearing a mask in many cases, and because they don't use effective masks so frequently - the benefits are outweighed by the negative side effects and impact. This does not even consider the massively negative environmental impact of nonbiodegradeable masks which will now be floating in our waters and blowing across our land.
If a person came in wearing a neckerchief or a homemade mask, I tell them it is placebo because it is.