re: Why Haven’t We Been Able to Develop a Mask that Protects the Wearer?

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Even the N95 doesn't protect against corona viruses.

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42 of 2,393 people (1.8%) in the mask group and 53 of 2,470 (2.1%) in the no-mask group contracted Covid over the test period.

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I think this is pretty clear. Almost as clear as the actual case statistics across the world.

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A cotton mask led to an approximately 20% to 40% reduction in virus uptake compared to no mask (Fig. 2B). The N95 mask had the highest protective efficacy (approximately 80% to 90% reduction) of the various masks examined; however, infectious virus penetration was measurable even when the N95 mask was completely fitted to the face with adhesive tape (Fig. 2B). In contrast, when a mask was attached to the mannequin that released virus, cotton and surgical masks blocked more than 50% of the virus transmission, whereas the N95 mask showed considerable protective efficacy (Fig. 2C). There was a synergistic effect when both the virus receiver and virus spreader wore masks (cotton masks or surgical masks) to prevent the transmission of infective droplets/aerosols (Fig. 2D and ?andEE).

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In conclusion, we have measured the filtration efficiencies of various commonly available fabrics for use as cloth masks in filtering particles in the significant (for aerosol-based virus transmission) size range of ~10 nm to ~6 µm and have presented filtration efficiency data as a function of aerosol particle size. We find that cotton, natural silk, and chiffon can provide good protection, typically above 50% in the entire 10 nm to 6.0 µm range, provided they have a tight weave. Higher threads per inch cotton with tighter weaves resulted in better filtration efficiencies. For instance, a 600 TPI cotton sheet can provide average filtration efficiencies of 79 ± 23% (in the 10 nm to 300 nm range) and 98.4 ± 0.2% (in the 300 nm to 6 µm range). A cotton quilt with batting provides 96 ± 2% (10 nm to 300 nm) and 96.1 ± 0.3% (300 nm to 6 µm)

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Just because it is useless for whatever exposure you are protecting yourself from in your job does not mean it is useless for all applications.

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I just think it’s funny you are advocating for the mask and it’s effectiveness but in the same breath clearly say that most people aren’t wearing them properly.

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The "mask do nothing" people have been some of the most entertaining in all of this. What you're saying should be a common sense conclusion that doesn't require your knowledge as a doctor

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Like I’ve said from the start of this thread, relying on strangers to properly wear a mask to protect you from Covid is just irresponsible now that we are a year into this thing. Especially considering that they are available mask options that provide much better protection than a T-Shirt with ear straps and there is a very effective vaccine that is available for people that SCIENCE shows are at high risk of serious complications of Covid.

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At this point, I think our only option for future pandemics is to ban all domestic and international travel and do it as soon as the virus is detected. That coupled with Wuhan style quarantining and isolating cities is the only thing that will work.

Anything else and people's freedoms will be violated and you'll see the exact thing that happened with Covid. Covid proved that Americans are going to do whatever the frick they want. You can't depend on a general population to control the spread of a virus...period.

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either way it seems negligible considering all things

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These studies are carried out in controlled environments and that's not the reality of what we deal with.

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