The largest COVID-19-specific mask trial to date, the Danish study -see here or Annals of Internal Medicine here – found masks may either reduce your risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by as much as 46% or increase it by 23%.
Either way, the reason for this is because the virus is aerosolized and spreads through the air. Aerosolized viruses — especially SARS-CoV-2, which is about half the size of influenza viruses — cannot be blocked by a mask, as explained in an interview with Denis Rancourt, who has conducted a thorough review of the published science on masks and viral transmission. A vast majority — 97.9% of those who didn’t wear masks, and 98.2% of those who did — remained infection free.
Here is what one university found on school children’s face masks after a day of wearing them: Facts Matter (June 21): University Lab Finds 11 Dangerous Pathogens on Children’s Face Masks or see University of Florida Lab Finds Dangerous Pathogens on Children’s Face Masks .
Following is the list of 11 dangerous pathogens detected on the masks:
- Streptococcus pneumonia
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Neisseria meningitidis
- Acanthamoeba polyphaga
- Acinetobacter baumanni
- Escherichia coli
- Borrelia burgdorferi
- Corynebacterium diphtheria
- Legionella pneumophila
- Staphylococcus pyogenes serotype M3
- Staphylococcus aureus