no, n95 masks do not stop covid either

this is just more pandemic cosplay being used as cover for the increasingly obvious failure of mask policy

masks failed. they do not stop covid, masks never stopped covid, could not stop covid, and were known for 100 years not to stop respiratory viruses. the data from schools is outlandishly strong.

sorry to all the talismanic adherents out there who want to feel like they “did something” and visibly show tribal affinity and signal virtue, but you have all been had.

the studies supporting this pseudoscience are all junk (mass gen, kansas, bangladesh, 200 silly droplet models) and the high quality studies all show inefficacy and have for generations.

they do not even work as source control when worn by trained medical staff in operating theaters.

that is not what they are for.

so why then this new obsession with n-95?

Jerome Adams @JeromeAdamsMD

When are we going to talk about the fact that most people in the U.S. who ARE wearing masks, don’t have masks which will do much to stop Omicron? A pack of free KN95s would’ve done as much/more to stop spread as 1.5 rapid tests per person. 🤷🏽‍♂️

why are once more the fonts of fallacious talking points overflowing with prescription and “you need an n-95 cuz omicron”?

it seems to be everywhere. i suspect this is likely because so many others have finally had to acquiesce that “yes, cloth masks are pandemic cosplay and do nothing to stop spread..”

but here’s the thing: it’s all cosplay.

the new tactical retreat into “we just need better masks this time” is just more of the same. it’s just a way to climb down and avoid addressing a huge body of evidence by claiming everyone did it wrong.

there is zero sound evidence to back this.

best i can tell, it’s entirely made up (just as “source control, your mask protects me”) was made up and then post facto justified with a bunch of utterly irrelevant “mannequin sneeze mask” studies and other such stage magician legerdemain to avoid having to measure actual clinical outcomes.

these are populist political talking points, not epidemiology.

many places in the world already tried this.

spoiler alert: it did absolutely nothing. there is zero curve separation from n95 mandates. zero.

(data from longtime gatopal™ @ianmSC )

this is just another low energy pathway for the folks who have been wrong all along to try to avoid admitting it for a little while longer.

omicron changed nothing from a mask perspective. it’s the same virion. same size, same ability to pass through mask fibers, same aerosol characteristics, same ability to flow out the sides and edges because your mask is not (and cannot be) sealed.

it may well be more contagious, but this has nothing to do with anything that a mask would affect.

it’s incredibly obvious this does not work:

all the breath comes out the top and sides and the virion hangs in the air for ~2 weeks afterwards. the idea that you just need 6 feet of space and droplet control was entirely invented. it never had any basis in fact.

this would all have been laughable were it not so crazily tragic.

masks have become a literal addiction. (this is a known and studied phenomenon)

and people have lost all perspective on them.

they have become children hiding under a wubbie in a thunderstorm.

they have become dependent and deranged.

discernment and logic went out the window.

and people who really ought to know better are inflicting great harm onto those unable to defend themselves.

this is not some harmless precaution, it’s an alienating and isolating symbol of fear and abnormality. it breaks human contact, communication, empathy, and community. it is not helping. it’s just more needless damage.

and it’s time we said “no more.”