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In Covid wards, doctors and nurses are wearing N95's, properly fit for them.

Surgeons and dentists wear them to prevent droplets from entering a body's compromised situation.

Surgical masks are not effective for reducing Covid transmission.

How about this:




Infographic - Understanding the Difference, Surgical Mask, N95 Respirator (cdc.gov)



We good now?

My brother is a dentist. He says the reason we wear masks is to prevent the spread of disease. The surgical masks are better at preventing spread than protecting against it. But there is still some protection. I buy the KN95s which are close to being N95s. I contracted COVID-19 wearing a surgical mask in the presence of clients who turned out were positive, but asymptomatic - until later. I suspect I am not superman. The mask probably helped - I think. That said, when I learned KN95s were available I bought some in January, especially to wear in densely populated indoor rooms, airports and airplanes. I bought more last week.
Our spread in Iowa is really low right now. If it ticks up this fall, and winter, I will probably go back to the mask. I hear my brother the dentist is continuing to wear masks in public places, which I think for a medical professional working in close quarters with peoples' mouths wide open -- is probably a good idea.

There is no hard proof that wearing a mask prevents spread. 

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776536

Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the efficacy of community mask wearing to reduce the spread of respiratory infections was controversial because there were no solid relevant data to support their use. During the pandemic, the scientific evidence has increased. Compelling data now demonstrate that community mask wearing is an effective nonpharmacologic intervention to reduce the spread of this infection, especially as source control to prevent spread from infected persons, but also as protection to reduce wearers’ exposure to infection.

<snip>

Community mask wearing substantially reduces transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2 ways. First, masks prevent infected persons from exposing others to SARS-CoV-2 by blocking exhalation of virus-containing droplets into the air (termed source control). This aspect of mask wearing is especially important because it is estimated that at least 50% or more of transmissions are from persons who never develop symptoms or those who are in the presymptomatic phase of COVID-19 illness.1 In recent laboratory experiments, multilayer cloth masks were more effective than single-layer masks, blocking as much as 50% to 70% of exhaled small droplets and particles.2,3 In some cases, cloth masks have performed similar to surgical or procedure masks for source control. Second, masks protect uninfected wearers. Masks form a barrier to large respiratory droplets that could land on exposed mucous membranes of the eye, nose, and mouth. Masks can also partially filter out small droplets and particles from inhaled air. Multiple layers of fabric and fabrics with higher thread counts improve filtration. However, the observed effectiveness of cloth masks to protect the wearer is lower than their effectiveness for source control,3 and the filtration capacity of cloth masks can be highly dependent on design, fit, and materials used. Standards for cloth masks are needed to help consumers select marketed products.

Epidemiological investigations have helped quantify the benefit of mask wearing to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (Table; Supplement). At a hair salon in which all staff and clients were required to wear a mask under local ordinance and company policy, 2 symptomatic, infected stylists attended to 139 clients and no infections were observed in the 67 clients who were reached for interviewing and testing. During a COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, persons who wore masks experienced a 70% lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.4 Similar reductions have been reported in case contact investigations when contacts were masked5 and in household clusters in which household members were masked.6

An increasing number of ecological studies have also provided persuasive evidence that universal mandatory mask wearing policies have been associated with reductions in the number or rate of infections and deaths (Table). These studies did not distinguish the types of masks (cloth, surgical, or N95) used in the community. This association is strengthened because, in many cases, other mitigation strategies (eg, school and workplace closures, recommendations for social distancing, hand hygiene) had already been deployed before enactment of mask wearing policies, after which the reductions were observed. A study that examined changes in growth rates for infections in 15 states and the District of Columbia before and after mask mandates showed that rates were growing before the mandates were enacted and slowed significantly after, with greater benefit the longer the mandates had been in place.7

Wearing a mask can become uncomfortable, particularly for long periods in warm environments, and covering the nose and mouth may inhibit verbal and nonverbal communication, particularly for children and deaf individuals. However, children aged 7 to 13 years have been shown to be able to make accurate inferences about the emotions of others with partially covered faces,8 and the US Food and Drug Administration recently approved a transparent surgical mask that may be useful in such circumstances. Concerns about reduced oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide retention when wearing a mask have not been supported by available data.9

The overall community benefit of wearing masks derives from their combined ability to limit both exhalation and inhalation of infectious virus. Similar to the principle of herd immunity for vaccination, the greater the extent to which the intervention—mask wearing in this case—is adopted by the community, the larger the benefit to each individual member. The prevalence of mask use in the community may be of greater importance than the type of mask worn. It merits noting that a recent study has been improperly characterized by some sources as showing that cloth or surgical masks offer no benefit. This randomized trial in Denmark was designed to detect at least a 50% reduction in risk for persons wearing surgical masks. Findings were inconclusive,10 most likely because the actual reduction in exposure these masks provided for the wearer was lower. More importantly, the study was far too small (ie, enrolled about 0.1% of the population) to assess the community benefit achieved when wearer protection is combined with reduced source transmission from mask wearers to others.

I suppose there's SOME evidence...

My brother is a dentist. He says the reason we wear masks is to prevent the spread of disease. The surgical masks are better at preventing spread than protecting against it. But there is still some protection. I buy the KN95s which are close to being N95s. I contracted COVID-19 wearing a surgical mask in the presence of clients who turned out were positive, but asymptomatic - until later. I suspect I am not superman. The mask probably helped - I think. That said, when I learned KN95s were available I bought some in January, especially to wear in densely populated indoor rooms, airports and airplanes. I bought more last week.
Our spread in Iowa is really low right now. If it ticks up this fall, and winter, I will probably go back to the mask. I hear my brother the dentist is continuing to wear masks in public places, which I think for a medical professional working in close quarters with peoples' mouths wide open -- is probably a good idea.

Well, I have an anecdotal experience to share too.

Back in May, I was up in the Chicago area and had a minor procedure to remove a growth on my back. I have had him do several procedures over the years, so we know each other.

The Surgeon walked into the room without a mask on. He asked me if I was fully vaccinated, and I said I was. He told me I could take my mask off if I wanted to, and I did.

He put his surgical mask on while doing the procedure. Stitched me up, dressed the wound, and took his mask off. Shook my hand, had a few laughs, and he left.

Wearing a mask doesn't bother me,  but I don't work in a job where I have to wear it 8+ hours per day, every day.  Only time I've ever had to wear it is when going shopping at the grocery store or a retail store, or when walking to and from a table at a restaurant.

Folks who have to wear the mask constantly, for work, could potentially have a difference experience from me.

I haven't flown since before the pandemic.  

Current plans for next flying vacation are Europe in 2022 (delayed from 2020 for obvious reasons).  Budapest, Croatia, and Greece.

Yeah I'm lucky.  I haven't had to travel very much for work in about a decade.  And for my normal job I was working from home 90% of the time even before the pandemic.  This stuff was relatively easy for me, other than having to manage the kids who were doing online school for the first 6 months of it all, while I'm trying to work and do online meetings all day.  

On the other hand, my i s c & a aggie wife has had to wear a mask all day, every day, at the PT clinic.  She never complains about it, but she doesn't really complain about much of anything.  She just figures it's part of the job and does it.

if she doesn't complain about you, nothing should bother her

Exactly twenty years, today.


So I guess she has decided to keep me.