Why we need to wear better masks
With the Omicron variant causing infections to surge to record levels, masking is more important than ever — and increasing evidence indicates the quality of mask makes a significant difference.
The big picture: Fitted particle-filtering masks like N95s are up to 75 times more effective at preventing infection with COVID-19 than surgical masks, according to a study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The details: In the recent study by researchers at Max Planck Institute in Germany, they investigated the risk when two individuals are speaking with each other at a close distance. Their study used the most conservative estimates for simulations, meaning that any scenarios with a risk below 1% in their study can be assumed safe in a real-world environment.
What they're saying: While the study was conducted before the presence of Omicron, these findings should hold up given the conservative estimates they used in their simulations, study authors Gholamhossein Bagheri and Eberhard Bodenschatz told Axios.
