Debates over when and where to wear a mask apparently aren’t enough (British officials say to wear one during sex). Now, we have debates over which masks to wear.
It’s not totally new: The arguments have been going on since the beginning of a lockdown. But a recent study has thrust the question into the spotlight.
Scientists at Duke University used a laser beam to spot the number of tiny droplets coming from the mouth of someone speaking. They then measured how different masks (they tested 14 of them) affected the number of droplets and published the study in early August.
In general, almost all types of masks dramatically reduced the number of droplets, they found. This is helpful because droplets carry the virus and cause it to spread. N95s without valves and paper surgical masks provided the most protection. Cotton masks, including homemade ones, did better. Some were worse.
The researchers weren’t trying to produce an exhaustive study of mask efficacy, but rather were demonstrating a laboratory technique for measuring the efficacy. Nevertheless, the press and social media users took it as a study showing which were the good masks and which were the bad ones.
The “gaiter-type neck fleece” was the bad guy, supposedly increasing the number of particles emitted by a speaker. Get ready to be canceled if you wear one of those. And you wouldn’t be the first to take flack for your choice of mask.
Alyssa Milano, the former Who’s the Boss star who is now a Democratic activist, received plenty of mockery in May over her mask. In a tweet imploring everyone to mask up, Milano included a picture of her masked family. The problem: Her own mask was a work of crochet by her mother, and it was just as porous as you’d expect. Quite a few Milano droplets look like they could escape through there.
Milano defended herself on Twitter, writing “Assholes, mask has a carbon filter in it. So, yes, it might be crochet but totally safe.”
And if you own an N95 mask with a valve, you may be experiencing whiplash. Back in late March, they were cutting edge. Come April, health writers were calling them “evil valved masks” that should be banned.
The Duke study found valved N95 masks eliminating 85% of droplets, placing it in the middle of the pack.
Oh, for the days when a man or woman could wear what he or she wanted without worrying about being judged.
