Hey guys,
another week and another new claim catching my attention.
For weeks now, scientists are debating whether wearing face masks is necessary or not.
Some really emphasize the importance of wearing a mask, so that the spreading can be slowed down. Others argue that wearing face masks is not effective at preventing the possible contagion.
Lately, an image is circulating in social media, which shows three situations and its contagion probability.
According to the Meme, the probability to infect yourself is 70% when you are wearing a mask and the individual that carries the covid-19 is not.
In the second scenario in which the infected person wears a face mask and the healthy person doesn’t wear one, the contagion probability is 5%.
In the last scenario, both people, the covid-19 carrier and the healthy person are wearing a mask and the contagion probability is 1,5%.
Whether this information is correct is to find out.
After all these weeks, I am pretty sure that you will know what the next steps are, in order to
check the validity of the content.
Especially in April 2020, the meme was shared on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook dozens of times. However, the origin of the Chart is unknown. I could not find any clues pointing at who made this chart. This indicates that it is more likely that the origin is an anonymous social-media user rather than a reputable source with scientific evidence to justify it.
This brings us to the second point of this analysis, what the evidence is that supports this information?
Since it is unknown where this meme emerged, except for the chart there is no further background information that can prove the validity of this claim.
According to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Montgomery, president of the world medial association, only face masks of the type FFP2 or FFP3 can protect the individual against an infection.
These respiratory masks are primarily used in hospitals and medical practices. He underlines that other masks that are for example made out of cotton do not have any effect on the contagion probability.
The meme does not specify the type of mask.
All in all, I can say that this meme is mostly false.
True are the words “wear it” at the bottom of the image. Although the topic is very controversial, it can of course not hurt to wear a face mask. By covering mouth and nose, the covid-19 carrier reduces the risk of infecting others. So, do yourself and especially everyone else a favor and cover your mouth and nose with something when you are out in public. This is even an obligation in some countries such as Germany.
However, there is no scientific proof that those probabilities are true, additionally no other reputable source has confirmed this statement.
Thus, the percentages displayed cannot be accurate and this chart turns out to be false.