No. Science better understood things, that's what changed.
When Covid first came along there was a question about how easily it was spread, and exactly HOW it was spread. In the early days touch (hand to mouth / eyes) was thought to be the primary method of transmission with mouth/vapor/sputum transmission being secondary. This was why there was such a freakout in the early days with people leaving their Amazon parcels untouched on their front porch for a week thinking the virus had to die, incessantly wiping down their groceries, wearing gloves everywhere (remember that stage?) thinking it made them invincible, etc.
Science taught us in the months following that touch transmission really wasn't a major route. It happens, sure, but the odds are low.
In the early days it was thought and understood (again, science learns and changes in situations like this) that the virus was not aerosolized which is why we were all told that social distancing was important, and mostly adequate.
As we learned more, we begun to learn that the virus could indeed travel further than initially thought by sputum and vapor (IE, think about your breath outside in the winter) travel. So masks became important all of a sudden to dampen and reduce that direct path of travel between people in the same vicinity, and hence, reduce spread..
We've since learned that the virus can indeed travel aerosolized, further strengthening the need for masks.
It's entirely disingenuous for ANYONE to say that "Well, a year ago they said we didn't need masks!" and try to translate that to today. In the 1500's mercury was given internally to treat syphillus. Since that time science has taught us that ingesting mercury is, uh, kind of a bad thing. We learned. Science taught us new things.