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https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/

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There\u2019s been recent controversy about the use of face masks for protection against coronavirus. Mainstream sources, including\xa0the CDC\xa0and\xa0most of the media\xa0say masks are likely useless and not recommended. They\u2019ve recently been challenged, for example by\xa0Professor Zeynep Tufekci in the\xa0New York Times\xa0and by\xa0Jim and Elizabeth on Less Wrong. There was also some debate in the\xa0comment section here\xa0last week, so I promised I\u2019d look into it in more depth.

As far as I can tell, both sides agree on some points.

They agree that N95 respirators, when properly used by trained professionals, help prevent the wearer from getting infected.

They agree that surgical masks help prevent sick people from infecting others. Since many sick people don\u2019t know they are sick, in an ideal world with unlimited mask supplies everyone would wear surgical masks just to prevent themselves from spreading disease.

They also agree that there\u2019s currently a shortage of both surgical masks and respirators, so for altruistic reasons people should avoid hoarding them and give healthcare workers first dibs.