Masks only have to reduce virus spread, not stop it. The public health recommendations are not meant to achieve BSL4 conditions, but to reduce virus spread. Masks are part of that. Social distancing is another part of that.
Viruses are emitted in droplets of various sizes, all of which are larger than bare viruses. The mask permeability studies have looked at the ability of masks made from various materials to stop particles of a range of sizes.
The goal of all interventions is to reduce the R naught value to less than one. We’re getting close to that.
I was a laboratory officer during my military career. I had to read a LOT of medical journal articles in my work; I would never make a recommendation in a public forum without researching it thoroughly. And the medical literature supports the use of masks (and social distancing and face shields) to decrease the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Here is a sampling; more can be found in the medical and scientific literature:
Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis—https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31142-9/fulltext
Face Masks Considerably Reduce COVID-19 Cases in Germany: A Synthetic Control Method Approach—http://ftp.iza.org/dp13319.pdf
Masks Do More Than Protect Others During COVID-19: Reducing the Inoculum of SARS-CoV-2 to Protect the Wearer—https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7393808/
Potential utilities of mask‐wearing and instant hand hygiene for fighting SARS‐CoV‐2—https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7228401/
To think they will work now after wearing them for a year is a fool's errand.
The question of this thread is will Biden's national mask mandate save us from covid?
The answer is no. There is no way the government is going to get 350 million people to wear masks properly all of the time. Not possible. This is not a country of 350 million mindless robots.
And therin lies the problem with big government solutions from the liberals. People are going to do or not do, what they want to do regardless of what the government says. This is still a free country.
I don't even own a mask. Haven't worn one at all since this "pandemic" started. Why is it that my choice is less effective and more risky than someone else's choice to wear a mask 24/7? I haven't contracted the covid.
And yet the CDC claims that in 89% of all cases of people who have contracted covid, the patients either wore a mask all of the time or most of the time. Only 11% didn't wear a mask at all or very little. Those numbers would suggest that my strategy of not wearing a mask at all is a less risky and wiser choice.
This virus is not going to just go away. We live with viruses in our lives everyday. The best thing we can do is to stop spending a dollar to try and save a nickel. This virus is hardly deadlier that the seasonal flu or common cold.
And yet we have ruined our economy, people's livelihoods and lives over something that only kills .02% of the population. And 80% of those deaths are in people over 70 years old with other contributing medical issues.
We need to take off the masks and open the society back up and move on with our lives. The CDC just admitted that the death numbers from covid are 1,600% overstated. That's a real confidence builder when it comes to believing what the government experts are telling us.
We need to step back and see the forest for the trees and stop thinking masks are the solution. They're not. They are a crutch.