zlacker

Sorry, my comment was not very clear and is prone to misinterpretation. I'm not saying masks don't keep infection out, but rather that the point of society-wide mask adoption is more to keep unwitting spreaders from spreading so widely. I mean it does both, but as I understand it, it's main value is to attenuate sources than vice versa.

I'm in Taiwan where masks are ubiquitous, and have been upset reading about the slow adoption of masks in the West because it was always from a selfish perspective ("do masks protect ME?") whereas here they're worn for a communal purpose ("how do I protect others?"). How effective they are at blocking incoming infection always seemed like a big distraction to me, since it's been clear from the start that it reduces spray from spreaders talking and coughing, which alone is enough of a reason to adopt it widely.