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COVID-19 and Masks — Why the Public Should Start Wearing Masks
Mask wearing has been a consistent point of controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak we saw health agencies advising people that wearing masks was ineffective, but in the last few days the CDC has changed their tune. This has been a confusing topic, so it is worth looking at some of the literature on this topic.
Of the work that has been written on COVID-19 and masks, one of the most influential papers was a letter published by Feng et al. in the Lancet on March 20th. This short letter is actually quite interesting, as it makes the case for universal mask wearing using mainly a logical argument, rather than looking at data.
To understand this letter it is first important to recognize that there had not yet been any substantial study results covering the use of masks in the COVID-19 pandemic. The type of research is relatively time consuming. The discussion was based on previous literature on other viruses, and best guesses from experts based on the limited data available at the time.
An important divide they address is the need for N95 respirators for healthcare workers. Doctors and nurses need high quality masks to do their jobs without being infected, so all N95 masks (and surgical masks if N95 are not available) should go to this…
