Do Masks Protect Against Coronavirus?

As I explained recently based on the available studies, N95 and higher masks offer viral protection from inhaling airborn virus.  Surgical masks offer very little if any, and bandanas or cloth masks offer none.  

I received a few rude letters from the usual know-it-alls who seldom know anything who maintained that there were no differences between N95 masks and surgical masks, etc.

Some people insist that mask reqiurements are a conspiracy to take away their freedom, and some of these people maintain that their right not to wear a mask takes precedence over public health.  Some even claim that masks injure health and can cause death.  I wonder why we don’t see medical personnel, surgeons involved in hours long operations, dentists and oral hygenists, and lab technicians working with pathogens dropping dead from mask use.  The masks are intended for longer use than grocery shopping or sitting in a waiting room for a doctor’s appointment.

One never knows what to do with people so certain in their ignorance.  Below are a few of the many available studies that explain difference between N95 and surgical masks and certify that yes, N95 masks do what they are supposed to do and offer protection against viruses. The protection is not 100% and might not even be 95%, but greatly exceeds the protection of surgical and cloth masks. 

The N95 mask is the lower end of virus protection. The highest protection mask is P100. I focus on the N95 mask, because it is available to the public. In 2017 I could purchase them in pharmacies. Today you have to search online for a supplier.  See, for example: https://clinicalsuppliesusa.com/collections/n95-mask 

http://www.isg.org.au/index.php/news-items/study-shows-superiority-of-n95-respirators-in-protecting-health-workers-against-bacterial-respiratory-infections./ 

http://emag.medicalexpo.com/which-masks-actually-protect-against-coronavirus/ 

https://tools.niehs.nih.gov//wetp/public/hasl_get_blob.cfm?ID=3178 

Do Masks Protect Against Coronavirus?

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