COVID-19 Masks May Not Be As Effective As You Think

Going outside in these uncertain times is an issue for hundreds of millions of people around the world. The thought of contracting the coronavirus is frightening and terrifying for many. Unnerving as it may sound, the resources you think are protecting you might not be doing the best job. Millions go outside with masks on thinking that they will be able to provide adequate protection. However, some of these masks may not be doing enough justice to keeping you disease-free. When going outside, many believe that simply wearing a homemade cloth mask will protect them from contracting this deadly virus. In reality, these low-quality masks, which are made up of thin materials, only provide you with 10-20% of protection. The typical fabric masks you think keep you safe provide a mere 50% of protection. Even the high-quality surgical masks that you believe keep you out of harm’s way provide 80-95% of protection. How then, can you know for sure, that the masks you are using are actually shielding you from this virus?

The most common masks worn by people when outside as a form of protection from the virus are surgical masks. Although wearing a surgical mask is more effective than wearing no face protection, surgical masks are a lot less effective than you may think. First, surgical masks are designed to protect against large droplets, splashes, sprays of bodily fluid, or other types of fluid. This means that surgical masks are rather ineffective against aerosols, which is a problem as SARS-CoV-2 particles exist as aerosols. A study found that surgical masks don’t provide adequate filter performance against aerosols measuring 0.9, 2, and 3.1 micrometers. Furthermore, May Chu, a clinical professor in epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, found that 70% of the outside air moves through the mask and about 30% travels around the sides in a surgical mask. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved any type of surgical mask specifically for protection against COVID-19. All of this shows that wearing surgical masks may not be as beneficial as you think. However, the next type of mask, homemade cloth masks, is even less effective.

As stated before, the effectiveness of homemade masks ranges from 10% to a maximum of around 50%. In fact, according to a paper published by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, found that there is no evidence supporting that homemade masks impede the transmission of aerosols of COVID-19 particles. This further proves that in reality, the homemade masks you thought were safe really do not offer much protection. These homemade fabric masks also allow air to come in from the sides. Because they lack moisture-repelling layers, many COVID-19 particles can easily enter the respiratory system. While many people think that homemade masks by themselves provide sufficient protection against the coronavirus, this is false. The fabric in the masks only impedes around 2% of the air coming in. In addition, the gaps between cloth fibers, which are roughly a thousand times larger than the filter of N95 masks, can allow many virus particles to slip into the interior of the masks. All of this information leads to the conclusion that homemade masks by themselves are not effective protection against the coronavirus.

All in all, the purpose of this article is not to discourage you from wearing a mask when going outside. Masks may not be as effective as you think, but they are definitely better than nothing. However, without practicing proper social distancing etiquette, wearing a mask is practically useless for defending yourself from COVID-19 particles. Neither surgical masks nor homemade cloth masks provide sufficient protection against the coronavirus. Ultimately, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is something you control. Social distancing is the only truly effective way to protect yourself from this global pandemic and if you plan on heading outside, make sure to stay six feet apart from any other individual, regardless of whether you have a mask. Stay safe and hopefully the end of this pandemic is near.