Skip to main content

What, Masks May Make Things Worse!

By October 2, 2020Commentary

From the I told you so department, a study showing that masks can actually enhance the likelihood of transmission.  (Mask Study)   The authors, all engineers at reputable institutions, tested what happened when droplets went through a single or double layer surgical mask, the most commonly used ones.  What happened was that the masks turned large droplets into smaller particles that went through the mask and because of their resulting size would be able to spread further and linger longer, with single layer masks obviously performing worse than double layer ones.  Triple layer masks could stop the atomization from happening.  Note this is separate from the issues of leakage, etc., which also make a mask worthless, especially over a number of encounters.  And don’t even think that cloth masks make the slightest bit of difference.

Once again, wear them if you want, if nothing else, as a prominent politician was caught on hot mic saying this week, they are good political theater.  But don’t be delusional about their protective ability.  As I noted in a previous post, just stay away from fat old people and infected primates.

Join the discussion 3 Comments

  • Paul says:

    This mask thing has gotten out of hand. Still, the study recommends triple layer why not make it four to be safe?

    The problem is there are mandates. And there are one too many articles and medical professionals saying masks should be worn even if there’s a vaccine! The hysteria has so gripped people they’ve convinced themselves of masks are the only way to get back to ‘normal’ even going as far as to push for vaccination papers.

    For this virus? I’m not sure I can take much more of this lunacy.

  • M. McRae says:

    I’d like to believe that the ‘mask’ is finally slipping off of this pseudo-scientific gesture, but cynicism has gotten the best of me, and now my default position is to expect the worst from politicians and their self-consequent “experts”.

  • Lee Swanson says:

    I feel like something is missing in real world… the authors actually favored masks… Note this “We end the exposition by clarifying that any face covering, even the single-layer face masks provide some form resistance against exhalation of respiratory droplets and as such should be used whenever required or mandated by health officials. We also pointout that our current investigation only focused on efficacy of single and multi-layer masks in restricting exhaled large respiratory droplets. The assessment of the effectiveness of various masks during the inhalation process requires additional considerations and as such beyond the scope of this study.”

    Maybe I missed something….However I always wonder about air dynamics in outside air. And what escapes along the sides of masks and what is the individual mask wearer breathing in.

Leave a Reply to Lee SwansonCancel reply