this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
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[โ€“] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It helps to check whether or not the things you say are true before you declare them.

In this case, it is not true that they are "pretty much useless for COVID."

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7510705/

This article is from before they dropped droplet theory later in 2020. In the section titled "Factors to Consider when Using Cloth Masks to Protect Wearers and to Prevent Spread of Infection during the COVID-19 Pandemic":

The primary transmission routes for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are thought to be inhalation of respiratory droplets and close contact; therefore, WHO recommends wearing medical masks during routine care and using respirators during aerosol-generating procedures and other high-risk situations (17). However, SARS-COV-2 is a novel pathogen, and growing evidence indicates the possibility of airborne transmission.

They then go on to explain that cloth masks are the option of last resort and are not very useful. Surgical masks with proper fitting around the face and a certain minimum rating for water resistance will help, but most of the "surgical" masks we were all buying do not have enough layers and no water resistance ratings, and who among us got training on how to properly fit a mask to our faces?

Dropping a link and calling it information when you don't understand the content or haven't read it is not productive.