Essay

In the Age of COVID-19, Is a facemask necessary or effective?

Since January 2019, the world has been in the throes of a terrible and deadly disease.

SARS-COVID-19 has changed the world for the worse in a truly awe-inspiring number of ways.

Most of the health care related research of the last year has been totally focused on this one topic.

In particular, the use and effectiveness of the mask has been at the forefront of discussions

worldwide. The United States of America, unlike many Asian countries did not have a culture of

protective mask usage in public before the onset of the pandemic. Yet this disease has made the

face mask a new and necessary piece of fashion for all who would like some semblance of

regular life during these trying times. The pieces of scientific literature here attempt answer

many of the questions surrounding the usage and efficacy of the facemask, they can be largely

categorized into three groups: all mask available should be worn when in public, only certain

types of masks are useful in this pandemic, and masks are only apart of a larger response to this

pandemic.

The articles that exist under the category of any mask can be used in public. Articles

numbered 1, 2, 6, 8, and 12 deal with if normal cloth is an effective barrier to COVID-19. The

articles mainly tell a story of an any barrier is a good barrier response. The researchers find that a

normal cloth barrier is by no means the best to combat COVID-19 but it is better than no barrier

at all. A major concern with normal cloth masks if that they do not limit the particulate from the

respiratory system that spreads the virus. While some of the fluid is caught in the mask, it is by

no means totally effective. This leads to a need to research mass made from material that are

more effective at inhibiting COVID-19.

 4, 5, 7, 9, and 13 are those articles that detail materials that are nearly totally effective at

stopping the transmission of COVID-19. It has been found that masks given the N-95

designation are well over 99% effective at stopping COVID-19. A major problem with N-95

masks early in the pandemic was the general difficulty of obtaining one. The pandemic frozen

the supply chain of those companies that were able to manufacture them. Governments attempted

to stockpile N-95 masks for healthcare workers but even this was not totally effective. A

secondary problem is that some of these masks were built with a valve to allow exhaust,

COVID-19 can spread through this valve. For this reason, a second mask should be worn over

the top of these masks to limit these particles. Yet even with a mask that is 99% effective, the

facemask along is not the only way to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Articles 3, 10, 11, 14, and 15 detail what other steps should be taken along with

facemasks to combat this disease. Facemasks along with social distancing are the major way to

combat COVID-19. A wholistic approach must be taken to stop the spread of this virus.

Research shows that 9 to 12 feet of distance to significantly limit the spread of the disease. In the

Wuhan region of China, government officials found that the only way to stop the spread totally

was to limit the populations ability to leave their homes. Such drastic measures stopped the

pandemic in the area but research did not detail the economic effects of such measures.

In closing, there is a plethora of research in the last year on COVID-19. These articles

detail a world trying to defeat an enemy with out mercy or logic. Governments and people all

over the world have tried to create responses to this disease to limit the loss of life, and sadly no

one has found a response that is 100% effective. It is for this reason that there are so many

different trains of thought on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation. Time will only tell if these

attempts were able to limit the destruction around the world.

Citations

1. A. Konda, A. Prakash, G.A. Moss, M. Schmoldt, G.D. Grant, S. Guha; “Aerosol filtration

efficiency of common fabrics used in respiratory cloth masks,” ACS Nano, 14 (5) (2020),

pp. 6339-6347.

2. A.A. Chughtai, H. Seale, C.R. Macintyre;” Effectiveness of cloth masks for protection

against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, ”Emerging Infectious

Diseases, 26 (10) (2020), pp. 1-5.

3. AC Cunningham, HP Goh, D. Koh; “Treatment of COVID-19: old tricks for new

challenges,” Crit Care, 24 (2020), p. 91.

4. C.R. MacIntyre, A.A. Chughtai; “Facemasks for the prevention of infection in healthcare

and community settings,” BMJ: British Medical Journal, 350 (2015), p. h694

5. K.K. L.a.C.R. Jones; “The relationship of fabric properties and bacterial filtration

efficiency for selected surgical face masks,” Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology

and Management, 3 (2) (2003), pp. 1-8.

6. Lazaridis N, Skamnelos A, Murino A. et al. “Double-surgical-mask-with-slit” method:

reducing exposure to aerosol generation at upper gastrointestinal endoscopy during the

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review from front-line health care providers’ perspective,” J Clin Med Res, 12 (2020),

pp. 215-229.

8. M. Liang, L. Gao, C. Cheng, Q. Zhou, J.P. Uy, K. Heiner, C. Sun; “Efficacy of face mask

in preventing respiratory virus transmission: A systematic review and meta-analysis,”

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Control and Prevention 2016.

10. I. Amirav, A. Oron, G. Tal, K. Cesar, A. Ballin, S. Houri, L. Naugolny, A.Mandelbg;

“Aerosol delivery in respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis: Hood or face mask?, “The

Journal of Pediatrics, 147 (5) (2005), pp. 627-631.

11. R Yan, Y Zhang, Y Li, et al.; “Structural basis for the recognition of SARS-CoV-2 by

full-length human ACE2,” Science, 367 (2020), pp. 1444-1448

12. S.K. Sharma, M. Mishra, S.K. Mudgal; ”Efficacy of cloth face mask in prevention of

novel coronavirus infection transmission: A systematic review and meta-analysis”

Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9 (2020), p. 192.

13. S.J. Chung, M.L. Ling, W.H. Seto, B.S. Ang, P.A. Tambyah; “Debate on MERS-CoV

respiratory precautions: Surgical mask or N95 respirators?,” Singapore Medical

Journal, 55 (6) (2014), pp. 294-297.

14.  Sriwijitalai W, Wiwanitkit V. N-95 face mask for prevention of Wuhan novel

coronavirus: It is actually effective?. Int J Prev Med 2020; 11: 81.

15. W Dai, H Zhang, J Yu, et al.; “CT imaging and differential diagnosis of COVID-19,”

Can Assoc Radiol J, 71 (2020), pp. 195-200