“As a specialist in lung disorders and pulmonary disease, I treat respiratory infections every day and have seen firsthand the aggressive nature in which they can spread. Wearing a mask to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 pandemic seems like a no-brainer. But I can understand how “caution fatigue” and conflicting messages might cloud our judgment. ...”

MYTH: Wearing a mask protects other people but not me.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine and an accompanying video illustrate just how effective any form of face covering can be at catching droplets that are released when talking, which is the primary form of COVID-19 transmission. Masks are also an indirect reminder not to touch your face, which is another way they can protect the wearer.

Footnote:

“... Despite messages from some health officials to the contrary, it is likely that a mask can help protect a healthy wearer from infection, says Benjamin Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong. Both surgical masks and the more protective N95 respirators have been shown to prevent various respiratory infections in health care workers; there’s been some debate about which of the two is appropriate for different kinds of respiratory infection patient care. “It doesn’t make sense to imagine that … surgical masks are really important for health care workers but then not useful at all for the general public,” Cowling says.  SEE: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/would-everyone-wearing-face-masks-help-us-slow-pandemic”

[BOTTOM LINE:  Wearing a mask helps protect the wearer and others ... from COVID-19!!]