The masks thing is 100% accurate. The CDC and WHO kept insisting Covid was being spread by fomites on surfaces long after it was obvious the virus was airborne.

They did this because there was already a mask shortage and whatever other political reasons. It was wrong and it eroded confidence. Personally I'll never put a lot of stock in anything they come out with again w/o getting it verified by other sources I trust who know how to interpret medical literature.

The ironic thing is the anti-vaxx wellness community never jumps on the CDC being wrong on masks, because they don't believe in masks either.