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Comment by aqme28 | Hacker News Reader

That article doesn't support any kind of conclusion that masks are ineffective. It ranks the effectiveness of masks, but has no "maskless" group to compare against.

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"Penetration of cloth masks by particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%."

How do you test particle penetration in a 'maskless' group?

Isn't it implied that the 'maskless' group would have 100% particle penetration?

Isn’t that direct evidence that medical masks work? Which doesn’t support your assertion that groups all masks together. Thus, your argument appears against cloth masks, not medical grade (surgical, n95).

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/5/4/e006577/F2.large...

Yes absolutly. There is evidence that masks do work if combined with proper usage.

The evidence shows that changing masks frequently combined with using medical grade material is effective.

The current mask recommendations for the USA though... is folk science akin to using leeches or trepanation.

And no one demands any scientific rigour they just follow along blindly trusting whoever is on the T.V.

I wish the US had gone harder on telling people to get quality masks. Personally I use only n95 from US manufacturers that have a tight seal around my face. I understand before that there were supply constraints, but also there are better fabrics than just cotton that are widely available such as chiffon, which block/filter a ton more than cotton and is widely available.

Mask usage is still hugely important.

Masks need to be changed constantly.

Aerosols aren't particles.

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