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petrushka,
No grandkids. We (nuclear Fox family) are still wary of plane trips, both for us and visitors, would self-isolate or not travel if we had symptoms, and ask visitors to do likewise. I like that respiratory infection can be avoided (including colds and ‘flu) by simple precautions. Though it is much easier to practice in retirement.
Masks are apparently effective in preventing infected people from spreading colds and flu. Diseases spread by droplets, coughs and sneezes. Not as good at stopping aerosols.
Quite so. But instead, let’s compare how effective masks are against exhaling aerosols, with no mask at all. Better yet, let’s compare no mask with surgical masks with N95 masks. I would expect that stopping 90% of aerosols isn’t as good as stopping 95%, but much better than 0%.
You sound like you are implying that masks are useless against aerosols. I hope that isn’t what you were trying to say.
Not useless, but less than 95 percent. What do you think the actual reduction, with surgical masks?
https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(05)80143-9/fulltext
Good question. Hard to quantify because there are too many variables. My understanding is that masks of any type are much more effective when worn by the infected person than the healthy person sharing airspace – that is, by largely preventing the virus from getting into the air, rather than trying to keep air already full of virus out. Offensive (schlemiel) vs. defensive (schlemazel) masking.
But there are other factors as well. How closely does the mask fit the face? How does enough airflow to breathe get around/through the mask? I note that there are different grades and purposes of each mask type, and surgical N95 masks aren’t fully interchangeable with particulate N95 (for woodworking, for example).