[mikelockz]

> the primary appeal of masks is for quelling fear and anxiety, not preventing spread.

The appeal of masks for me is definitely to lower spread. Yes there is signaling, but also because masks reduce amount of possibly covid-infected droplets expelled from the mouth and nose while breathing and speaking.

It is not possible to have a 6 foot bubble around everybody at all times. It is possible to always wear a mask.

This is not moralizing, this is science.

[clairity]

that's rationalization, not science. feel free to wear a mask everywhere if it makes you feel better and aligns with your mediosocial affiliations, but the breadth of science show that masks are effective in specific, marginal situations, not everywhere, and that its population-level effects are drowned out by other, better mitigations.

[kn0where]

Maybe we’ve been reading very different breadths of science. Saying masks only work in a small number of situations sounds more like rationalization for not wearing one when we know aerosols are a major source of spread, and that masks significantly reduce aerosol transmission.

[rhino369]

1) I don't think its consensus that aerosols are a MAJOR source of spread.

2) Masks are much less effective for aerosols than for droplet transmission. I think the consensus is they at least somewhat reduce aerosol transmission. Only n95 w/o exhale vents that are properly worn are believed to be good at reducing aerosol transmission.

The fact that your glasses fog up shows that surgical masks certainly are very leaky.

[clairity]

aerosols are not a significant source of spread. otherwise, we'd have been inundated with specific stories and studies proving it. distancing overwhelms the effects of masks in nearly all common interaction cases.