John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Quote from article below:

"We found the most important measure for reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is to wear a mask," says Matthew Callstrom, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of radiology at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. "We found that both disposable paper medical masks and two-layer cloth masks were effective in reducing droplet transmission and we did not find a difference between mask types in terms of how well they blocked aerosol particles emitted by the wearer."

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-research-confirms-critical-role-of-masks-in-preventing-covid-19-infection/

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

So a sneeze goes mostly upward instead of outward. Big deal. It's still omitting the same amount of particles into the air. It's simply changing direction. Where do the particles go after 30 seconds. What goes up, must come down.

Say Cheese Loc: Eastern PA

We hear masks work then we hear that they do not work. People wear the mask still get the virus just like the governor of Pa. did.. I am getting very tired of this!

Stephan G

Life, and Death, are never 100 per cent.

Oh, always wash your hands after removing the mask and before touching face.

srt101fan

(1) Some (most?) of the particles emitted will be trapped in the mask material. So you have effectively reduced the amount of contamination released.
(2) You're right that some contamination will probably be released around the mask edges if you don't have a good seal. Particles larger than aerosol-size released that way will fall to the ground and will no longer be a respiratory hazard. So you have changed the trajectory of these particles and caused them to stay closer to the emitter.

Think Risk Reduction!

srt101fan

Thank you for posting, John. Good and useful info for discussions of mask effectiveness. From the Mayo Clinic no less....

Triple G

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/new-study-highlights-new-evidence-that-masks-prevent-coronavirus-spread/

Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic....I trust them.

srt101fan

Masks do work, but they're clearly not a perfect solution. For that matter individual protection by itself is not enough. You need to add contamination avoidance, contamination control and decontamination.

Please think Risk Reduction and do what you can to help out.....

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Did you watch the video? It appeared to me that the mask just redirected the particles upward in ALL cases and it didn't trap hardly ANY of the mist. You should watch again.

I agree that Risk Reduction is important. That's why we should distance ourselves, wash hand well, try not to touch faces, don't shake hands with others, and if you are NOT in good health or you are elderly, be more diligent with reducing risks. But masks are very ineffective if you ask me. Yes, yes, yes, there are videos and studies that say otherwise but there are just as many that dispute those videos as well.

A very good friend of mine is a flight attendant with Delta and she is VERY diligent about wearing her mask, making sure passengers are using them properly, following all the other guidelines etc. Well, guess what, she got Covid19 18 days ago and is just now feeling better. She tested positive twice. She can't go back to work until the tests come back negative. She can't have knee surgery now for about 4 more months because there is an antibody test that will detect Covid19 for usually 4 months and hospitals in CA will not perform surgeries like this until the antibody tests are negative as well.

And finally, my brother-in-law is a physician and has written some papers about the use of masks and their effectiveness and he supports my side of things. They are NOT very effective. Yes, they are probably 5% effective, but that's not much. The better N95 masks, worn properly are a little more effective, but not much.....

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

But ANY reduction in transmission is better than NOTHING. It’s just not that much of an inconvenience to take every possible action to prevent transmission.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

The mask "reduces" the chances of transmission and often that is enough.
Even my industrial mask with P100 filter pack is not 100% effective.
Now a full hazmat or lab bunny suit is as close to 100% as you can get. If you use it right, use it wrong and you got hot and uncomfortable for nothing because those times you are careless you just canceled it out.

The masks, etc are like the Flak Vests we wore in Vietnam, they did not stop bullets or even all shrapnel but they stopped some of it and that gave those who wore them a higher % chance of coming home.

Stephan G

And I will say that your BIL has not done his research very well. Nothing is effective in of itself. A lot depends on the actual environment and how/what is used. My background is in water purification, all the way to filtering urine into drinking water. It requires several actions and differing filters, which individually will have certain capability, and incapability. Bottom line, there is no one-size fits all solution. However, properly worn masks, with the other regimes, are actually a good start. There are several other actions that actually increase the probability of avoiding the virus, starting with all of us wearing the mask.

Stephan G

SteveR Loc: Michigan

It just makes sense. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Maintain distance.

It's not about loss of freedom, it's about fighting a common enemy. People did not refuse to adhere to the blackouts in WWII because it impinged on their freedom.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 Exactly.