More Mask FACTS:
CDC: 85% of COVID-19 patients report ‘always’ or ‘often’ wearing a mask. Americans are wearing masks, but masks aren't working.
Basically, there is no strong evidence to support well people wearing surgical masks in public. Or as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put it: "No recommendation can be made at this time for mask use in the community by asymptomatic persons, including those at high risk for complications, to prevent exposure to influenza viruses."
Here are a couple studies:
• The study, published in JAMA, found that surgical masks were as effective as N95 respirators at preventing the flu, which is to say, NOT ALL THAT EFFECTIVE BECAUSE, of the 446 nurses who took part in this study, nearly one in four (24%) in the surgical mask group still got the flu as did 23% of those who wore the N95 respirator. And, because both groups wore masks, it's impossible to say how they would have fared compared with not wearing a mask at all.
• AAPS (Association Of American Physicians And Surgeons) Conclusion: Wearing masks will not reduce SARS-CoV-2
• N95 masks protect health care workers, but are not recommended for source control transmission.
• Surgical masks are better than cloth but not very efficient at preventing emissions from infected patients.
• Cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as personal protective equipment (PPE).
https://aapsonline.org/mask-facts/
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, at a February hearing, Redfield went so far as to encourage people not to buy medical-grade masks, saying there's "no role for these masks in the community."