[basil-rash]

Funny, you two purport to agree, but the parent specifically requested a “good” mask (which can be effective, with the right training and protocols, which are almost never followed), and you advocate a “piece of cloth”, which is almost never effective. Two people agreeing in their advocacy for highly visible, yet ineffective, remedies.

[MattPalmer1086]

There is a difference between wearing a mask to prevent spread to others and wearing one to protect yourself.

The parent was concerned with reducing spread to others. Interestingly, one meta study [1] concludes that cloth masks are actually better than "good" masks if they are not worn and used correctly.

[1] https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/46/1/e84/7337687...

[CubsFan1060]

I don't think this needs to be absolutes. Properly fitted N95 > N95 > Surgical > none.

If sick people work an average N95/KN95 mask off of Amazon (which is the 'good' I was referring to), it'd help. It's not perfect, and you can do better, and you can do worse. But it's a reasonable intersection of "easy to do" and "effective".

[basil-rash]

Other comments disagree with you. An N95 that isn’t absolutely perfect would seem to be worse than a piece of cloth, if whatever arbitrary study financed by some unknown group with unknown incentives referenced by said commenter is to be believed. Which it probably isn’t. But it’s as good as any of the other “research” of such heavily politicized topics.

[ipqk]

Cloth masks may be still be useful for RSV/cold/flu.