The debate around masks is endless, with scientific articles that support their effectiveness, while other studies state that they don’t add value. This is rightfully extremely confusing, but we need to take into account several things that I will discuss in this thread...

1/10

Not all masks are created equal. An authentic valveless N95 mask (also called a respirator) is effective at blocking 95% of viral particles. However, if the eyes aren’t also protected, you are still exposed. Moreover, the exterior is contaminated, so can’t be touched....

2/10

What about other masks? So first off, KN95 masks aren’t the same as N95 masks, and are less effective. Surgical masks are less effective than N95 masks, have many openings and filter less. Cloth masks, bandanas, scarves are scientifically shown to be very ineffective...

3/10

Hospital workers wearing N95 masks makes a lot of sense as they are right next to infective people, but remember they also wear goggles, face shields, gowns, gloves, and do not reuse masks. Masks in hospitals makes sense. So what are we supposed to do with all of this?...

4/10

The government needed to put in place protective measures, and masks make people calm, which is why they were mandated. Population control is at the core of government policy, and masks were a good tool whether or not the science was clear about their effectiveness...

5/10

The government can’t require that people pay for N95 masks, and they didn’t want to (and couldn’t) pay for the entire world to have a new N95 mask handy every few hours. Moreover, in March, there was a real shortage of N95 masks, and healthcare workers needed them most...

6/10

Because they needed to pacify the population and couldn’t require N95 masks, they said that you could make your own, wear a bandana, or a scarf. This did not mean that these were scientifically proven to be effective, and they couldn’t say that they were not effective...

7/10

Are masks effective? Masks can reduce viral load, so if you get infected, the infection might be less harmful. However, masks give a false sense of security, are reused, are touched, so do the pros outweigh the cons? Outdoors, in my opinion, masks don’t make much sense...

8/10

Wearing a mask indoors has more value, but again, there are cons which need to be considered, and not all masks are the same. If you wear an unused authentic valveless N95 mask with goggles indoors, you are reducing your chance of being infected...

9/10

At the end of the day there are many often conflicting sides to the use of masks, and no absolute yes or no answer. The real answer is that...it depends. In my opinion, the vulnerable should wear an N95 mask with goggles. For healthy people I am not a big fan of masks.

10/10